Sample records for gravitational lensing explanation

In a long line of intellectual triumphs, Einstein’s theory of general relativity was his greatest and most imaginative. It tells us that what we experience as gravity can be most accurately described as the bending of space itself. This idea leads to consequences, including gravitationallensing, which is caused by light traveling in this curved space. This is works in a way analogous to a lens (and hence the name). In this video, Fermilab’s Dr. Don Lincoln explains a little general relativity, a little gravitationallensing, and tells us how this phenomenon allows us to map out the matter of the entire universe, including the otherwise-invisible dark matter.

In a long line of intellectual triumphs, Einsteinâs theory of general relativity was his greatest and most imaginative. It tells us that what we experience as gravity can be most accurately described as the bending of space itself. This idea leads to consequences, including gravitationallensing, which is caused by light traveling in this curved space. This is works in a way analogous to a lens (and hence the name). In this video, Fermilabâs Dr. Don Lincoln explains a little general relativity, a little gravitationallensing, and tells us how this phenomenon allows us to map out the matter of the entire universe, including the otherwise-invisible dark matter.

For several years astronomers have devoted considerable effort to finding and studying a class of celestial phenomena whose very existence depends on rare cosmic accidents. These are gravitational-lens events, which occur when two or more objects at different distances from the earth happen to lie along the same line of sight and so coincide in the sky. The radiation from the more distant object, typically a quasar, is bent by the gravitational field of the foreground object. The bending creates a cosmic mirage: distorted or multiple images of the background object. Such phenomena may reveal many otherwise undetectable features of the image source, of the foreground object and of the space lying between them. Such observations could help to resolve several fundamental questions in cosmology. In the past decade theoretical and observational research on gravitationallenses has grown rapidly and steadily. At this writing at least 17 candidate lens systems have been discussed in the literature. Of the 17 lens candidates reported so far in professional literature, only five are considered to have been reliably established by subsequent observations. Another three are generally regarded as weak or speculative cases with less than 50 percent chance of actually being lens systems. In the remaining nine cases the evidence is mixed or is sparse enough so that the final judgment could swing either way. As might be concluded, little of the scientific promise of gravitationallenses has yet been realized. The work has not yielded a clear value for the proportionality constant or any of the other fundamental cosmological parameter. 7 figs.

Gravitationallensing phenomena are widespread in electromagnetic astrophysics, and in principle may also be uncovered with gravitational waves. We examine gravitational wave events lensed by elliptical galaxies in the limit of geometric optics, where we expect to see multiple signals from the same event with different arrival times and amplitudes. By using mass functions for compact binaries from population-synthesis simulations and a lensing probability calculated from Planck data, we estimate the rate of lensed signals for future gravitational wave missions.

Gravitationallensing has developed into one of the most powerful tools for the analysis of the dark universe. This review summarizes the theory of gravitationallensing, its main current applications and representative results achieved so far. It has two parts. In the first, starting from the equation of geodesic deviation, the equations of thin and extended gravitationallensing are derived. In the second, gravitationallensing by stars and planets, galaxies, galaxy clusters and large-scale structures is discussed and summarized.

This chapter reviews the data mining methods recently developed to solve standard data problems in weak gravitationallensing. We detail the different steps of the weak lensing data analysis along with the different techniques dedicated to these applications. An overview of the different techniques currently used will be given along with future prospects. Until about 30 years ago, astronomers thought that the Universe was composed almost entirely of ordinary matter: protons, neutrons, electrons, and atoms. The field of weak lensing has been motivated by the observations made in the last decades showing that visible matter represents only about 4-5% of the Universe (see Figure 14.1). Currently, the majority of the Universe is thought to be dark, that is, does not emit electromagnetic radiation. The Universe is thought to be mostly composed of an invisible, pressure less matter - potentially relic from higher energy theories - called "dark matter" (20-21%) and by an even more mysterious term, described in Einstein equations as a vacuum energy density, called "dark energy" (70%). This "dark" Universe is not well described or even understood; its presence is inferred indirectly from its gravitational effects, both on the motions of astronomical objects and on light propagation. So this point could be the next breakthrough in cosmology. Today's cosmology is based on a cosmological model that contains various parameters that need to be determined precisely, such as the matter density parameter Omega_m or the dark energy density parameter Omega_lambda. Weak gravitationallensing is believed to be the most promising tool to understand the nature of dark matter and to constrain the cosmological parameters used to describe the Universe because it provides a method to directly map the distribution of dark matter (see [1,6,60,63,70]). From this dark matter distribution, the nature of dark matter can be better understood and better constraints can be placed on dark energy

Gravitationallenses are a spectacular astrophysical phenomenon, a cosmic mirage caused by the gravitational deflection of light in which multiple images of a same background object can be seen. Their beauty is only exceeded by their usefulness, as the gravitational lens effect is a direct probe of the total mass of the deflecting object. Furthermore, since the image configuration arising from the gravitational lens effect depends on the exact gravitational potential of the deflector, it even holds the promise of learning about the distribution of the mass. In this presentation, a method for extracting the information encoded in the images and reconstructing the mass distribution is presented. Being a non-parametric method, it avoids making a priori assumptions about the shape of the mass distribution. At the core of the procedure lies a genetic algorithm, an optimization strategy inspired by Darwin's principle of ``survival of the fittest''. One only needs to specify a criterion to decide if one particular trial solution is deemed better than another, and the genetic algorithm will ``breed'' appropriate solutions to the problem. In a similar way, one can create a multi-objective genetic algorithm, capable of optimizing several fitness criteria at the same time. This provides a very flexible way to incorporate all the available information in the gravitational lens system: not only the positions and shapes of the multiple images are used, but also the so-called ``null space'', i.e. the area in which no such images can be seen. The effectiveness of this approach is illustrated using simulated data, which allows one to compare the reconstruction to the true mass distribution.

It is not common to introduce current astronomy in school lessons. This article presents a set of experiments about gravitationallenses. It is normal to simulate them by means of computers, but it is very simple to simulate similar effects using a drinking glass full of liquid or using only the glass base. These are, of course, cheap and easy…

The technical features are described of the Optical GravitationalLensing Experiment, which aims to detect a statistically significant number of microlensing events toward the Galactic bulge. Clusters of galaxies observed during the 1992 season are listed and discussed and the reduction methods are described. Future plans are addressed.

Gravitational waves emitted by chirping supermassive black hole binaries could in principle be used to obtain very accurate distance determinations. Provided they have an electromagnetic counterpart from which the redshift can be determined, these standard sirens could be used to build a high-redshift Hubble diagram. Errors in the distance measurements will most likely be dominated by gravitationallensing. We show that the (de)magnification due to inhomogeneous foreground matter will increase the scatter in the measured distances by a factor of ~10. We propose to use optical and IR data of the foreground galaxies to minimize the degradation from weak lensing. We find that the net effect of correcting the estimated distances for lensing is comparable to increasing the sample size by a factor of 3 when using the data to constrain cosmological parameters.

The NASA Hubble Space Telescope serendipitous survey of the sky has uncovered exotic patterns, rings, arcs and crosses that are all optical mirages produced by a gravitational lens, nature's equivalent of having giant magnifying glass in space. Shown are the top 10 lens candidates uncovered in the deepest 100 Hubble fields. Hubble's sensitivity and high resolution allow it to see faint and distant lenses that cannot be detected with ground-based telescopes whose images are blurred by Earth's atmosphere. [Top Left] - HST 01248+0351 is a lensed pair on either side of the edge-on disk lensing galaxy. [Top Center] - HST 01247+0352 is another pair of bluer lensed source images around the red spherical elliptical lensing galaxy. Two much fainter images can be seen near the detection limit which might make this a quadruple system. [Top Right] - HST 15433+5352 is a very good lens candidate with a bluer lensed source in the form of an extended arc about the redder elliptical lensing galaxy. [Middle Far Left] - HST 16302+8230 could be an 'Einstein ring' and the most intriguing lens candidate. It has been nicknamed the 'the London Underground' since it resembles that logo. [Middle Near Left] - HST 14176+5226 is the first, and brightest lens system discovered in 1995 with the Hubble telescope. This lens candidate has now been confirmed spectroscopically using large ground-based telescopes. The elliptical lensing galaxy is located 7 billion light-years away, and the lensed quasar is about 11 billion light-years distant. [Middle Near Right] - HST 12531-2914 is the second quadruple lens candidate discovered with Hubble. It is similar to the first, but appears smaller and fainter. [Middle Far Right] - HST 14164+5215 is a pair of bluish lensed images symmetrically placed around a brighter, redder galaxy. [Bottom Left] - HST 16309+8230 is an edge-on disk-like galaxy (blue arc) which has been significantly distorted by the redder lensing elliptical galaxy. [Bottom Center] - HST 12368

The influence of plasma on different effects of gravitationallensing is reviewed. Using the Hamiltonian approach for geometrical optics in a medium in the presence of gravity, an exact formula for the photon deflection angle by a black hole (or another body with a Schwarzschild metric) embedded in plasma with a spherically symmetric density distribution is derived. The deflection angle in this case is determined by the mutual combination of different factors: gravity, dispersion, and refraction. While the effects of deflection by the gravity in vacuum and the refractive deflection in a nonhomogeneous medium are well known, the new effect is that, in the case of a homogeneous plasma, in the absence of refractive deflection, the gravitational deflection differs from the vacuum deflection and depends on the photon frequency. In the presence of a plasma nonhomogeneity, the chromatic refractive deflection also occurs, so the presence of plasma always makes gravitationallensing chromatic. In particular, the presence of plasma leads to different angular positions of the same image if it is observed at different wavelengths. It is discussed in detail how to apply the presented formulas for the calculation of the deflection angle in different situations. Gravitationallensing in plasma beyond the weak deflection approximation is also considered.

The influence of plasma on different effects of gravitationallensing is reviewed. Using the Hamiltonian approach for geometrical optics in a medium in the presence of gravity, an exact formula for the photon deflection angle by a black hole (or another body with a Schwarzschild metric) embedded in plasma with a spherically symmetric density distribution is derived. The deflection angle in this case is determined by the mutual combination of different factors: gravity, dispersion, and refraction. While the effects of deflection by the gravity in vacuum and the refractive deflection in a nonhomogeneous medium are well known, the new effect is that, in the case of a homogeneous plasma, in the absence of refractive deflection, the gravitational deflection differs from the vacuum deflection and depends on the photon frequency. In the presence of a plasma nonhomogeneity, the chromatic refractive deflection also occurs, so the presence of plasma always makes gravitationallensing chromatic. In particular, the presence of plasma leads to different angular positions of the same image if it is observed at different wavelengths. It is discussed in detail how to apply the presented formulas for the calculation of the deflection angle in different situations. Gravitationallensing in plasma beyond the weak deflection approximation is also considered.

The microphysical properties of the dark matter (DM) particle can, in principle, be constrained by the properties and abundance of substructures in galaxy clusters, as measured through strong gravitationallensing. Unfortunately, there is a lack of accurate theoretical predictions for the lensing signal of these substructures, mainly because of the discreteness noise inherent to N-body simulations. Here, we present a method, dubbed as Recursive-TCM, that is able to provide lensing predictions with an arbitrarily low discreteness noise. This solution is based on a novel way of interpreting the results of N-body simulations, where particles simply trace the evolution and distortion of Lagrangian phase-space volume elements. We discuss the advantages and limitations of this method compared to the widely used density estimators based on cloud-in-cells and adaptive-kernel smoothing. Applying the new method to a cluster-sized DM halo simulated in warm and cold DM scenarios, we show how the expected differences in their substructure population translate into differences in convergence and magnification maps. We anticipate that our method will provide the high-precision theoretical predictions required to interpret and fully exploit strong gravitationallensing observations.

Gravitational lens is a massive body or system of bodies with gravitational field that bends directions of light rays propagating nearby. This may cause an observer to see multiple images of a light source, e.g. a star, if there is a gravitational lens between the star and the observer. Light rays that form each individual image may have different distances to travel, which creates time delays between them. In complex gravitational fields generated by the system of stars, analytical calculation of trajectories and light intensities is virtually impossible. Gravitational lens of two massive bodies, one behind another, are able to create four images of a light source. Furthermore, the interaction between the four light beams can form a complicated interference pattern. This article provides a brief theory of light behavior in a gravitational field and describes the algorithm for constructing the trajectories of light rays in a gravitational field, calculating wave fronts and interference pattern of light. If you set gravitational field by any number of transparent and non- transparent objects (stars) and set emitters of radio wave beams, it is possible to calculate the interference pattern in any region of space. The proposed method of calculation can be applied even in the case of the lack of continuity between the position of the emitting stars and position of the resulting image. In this paper we propose methods of optimization, as well as solutions for some problems arising in modeling of gravitationallenses. The simulation of light rays in the sun's gravitational field is taken as an example. Also caustic is constructed for objects with uniform mass distribution.

Microwave SETI (The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) focuses on two primary strategies, the "Targeted Search" and the "All-Sky Survey." Although the goal of both strategies is the unequivocal discovery of a signal transmitted by intelligent species outside our solar system, they pursue the strategies in very different manners and have vastly different requirements. This chapter introduces GravitationalLensing SETI (GL-SETI), a third strategy. Its goal is the unequivocal discovery of an extraterrestrial signal, with equipment and data processing requirements that are substantially different from the commonly-used strategies. This strategy is particularly suitable for use with smaller radio telescopes and has budgetary requirements suitable for individual researchers.

Once quantum mechanical effects are included, the hypotheses underlying the positive mass theorem of classical general relativity fail. As an example of the peculiarities attendant upon this observation, a wormhole mouth embedded in a region of high mass density might accrete mass, giving the other mouth a net [ital negative] mass of unusual gravitational properties. The lensing of such a gravitationally negative anomalous compact halo object (GNACHO) will enhance background stars with a time profile that is observable and qualitatively different from that recently observed for massive compact halo objects (MACHO's) of positive mass. While the analysis is discussed in terms of wormholes, the observational test proposed is more generally a search for compact negative mass objects of any origin. We recommend that MACHO search data be analyzed for GNACHO's.

Gravitationallensing emerged as an observational field following the 1979 discovery of a doubly imaged quasar lensed by a foreground galaxy. In the 1980s and '90s dozens of other multiply imaged systems were observed, as well as time delay measurements, weak and strong lensing by galaxies and galaxy clusters, and the discovery of microlensing in our galaxy. The rapid pace of advances has continued into the new century. Lensing is currently one of best techniques for finding and mapping dark matter over a wide range of scales, and also addresses broader cosmological questions such as understanding the nature of dark energy. This focus issue of New Journal of Physics presents a snapshot of current research in some of the exciting areas of lensing. It provides an occasion to look back at the advances of the last decade and ahead to the potential of the coming years. Just about a decade ago, microlensing was discovered through the magnification of stars in our galaxy by invisible objects with masses between that of Jupiter and a tenth the mass of the Sun. Thus a new component of the mass of our galaxy, dubbed MACHOs, was established (though a diffuse, cold dark matter-like component is still needed to make up most of the galaxy mass). More recently, microlensing led to another exciting discovery—of extra-solar planets with masses ranging from about five times that of Earth to that of Neptune. We can expect many more planets to be discovered through ongoing surveys. Microlensing is the best technique for finding Earth mass planets, though it is not as productive overall as other methods and does not allow for follow up observations. Beyond planet hunting, microlensing has enabled us to observe previously inaccessible systems, ranging from the surfaces of other stars to the accretion disks around the black holes powering distant quasars. Galaxies and galaxy clusters at cosmological distances can produce dramatic lensing effects: multiple images of background galaxies

In this dissertation, we discuss the properties of galaxy clusters that have been determined using strong and weak gravitationallensing. A galaxy cluster is a collection of galaxies that are bound together by the force of gravity, while gravitationallensing is the bending of light by gravity. Strong lensing is the formation of arcs or rings of light surrounding clusters and weak lensing is a change in the apparent shapes of many galaxies. In this work we examine the properties of several samples of galaxy clusters using gravitationallensing. In Chapter 1 we introduce astrophysical theory of galaxy clusters and gravitationallensing. In Chapter 2 we examine evidence from our data that galaxy clusters are more concentrated than cosmology would predict. In Chapter 3 we investigate whether our assumptions about the number of galaxies in our clusters was valid by examining new data. In Chapter 4 we describe a determination of a relationship between mass and number of galaxies in a cluster at higher redshift than has been found before. In Chapter 5 we describe a model of the mass distribution in one of the ten lensing systems discovered by our group at Fermilab. Finally in Chapter 6 we summarize our conclusions.

In this dissertation, we discuss the properties of galaxy clusters that have been determined using strong and weak gravitationallensing. A galaxy cluster is a collection of galaxies that are bound together by the force of gravity, while gravitationallensing is the bending of light by gravity. Strong lensing is the formation of arcs or rings of light surrounding clusters and weak lensing is a change in the apparent shapes of many galaxies. In this work we examine the properties of several samples of galaxy clusters using gravitationallensing. In Chapter 1 we introduce astrophysical theory of galaxy clusters and gravitationallensing. In Chapter 2 we examine evidence from our data that galaxy clusters are more concentrated than cosmology would predict. In Chapter 3 we investigate whether our assumptions about the number of galaxies in our clusters was valid by examining new data. In Chapter 4 we describe a determination of a relationship between mass and number of galaxies in a cluster at higher redshift than has been found before. In Chapter 5 we describe a model of the mass distribution in one of the ten lensing systems discovered by our group at Fermilab. Finally in Chapter 6 we summarize our conclusions.

Theoretical models are presented for guiding the application of gravitationallenses to probe the characteristics of dark matter in the universe. Analytical techniques are defined for quantifying the mass associated with lensing galaxies (in terms of the image separation), determining the quantity of dark mass of the lensing bodies, and estimating the mass density of the lenses. The possibility that heavy halos are made of low mass stars is considered, along with the swallowing of central images of black holes or cusps in galactic nuclei and the effects produced on a lensed quasar image by nonbaryonic halos. The observable effects of dense groups and clusters and the characteristics of dark matter strings are discussed, and various types of images which are possible due to lensing phenomena and position are described.

We report a detection of weak, tangential distortion of the images of cosmologically distant, faint galaxies due to gravitationallensing by foreground galaxies. A mean image polarization of ({ital p})=0.011{plus_minus}0.006 (95{percent} confidence bounds) is obtained for 3202 pairs of source (23{lt}{ital r}{sub {ital s}}{le}24) and lens (20{le}{ital r}{sub {ital d}}{le}23) galaxies with projected separations of 5{double_prime}{le}{theta}{le}34{double_prime}. Averaged over annuli of inner radius 5{double_prime} and outer radius {theta}{sub max}, the signal is string for lens-source separations of {theta}{sub max}{approx_lt}90{double_prime} consistent with quasi-isothermal galaxy halos extending to large radii ({approx_gt}100{ital h}{sup {minus}1} kpc). The observed polarization is also consistent with the signal expected on the basis of simulations incorporating measured properties of local galaxies and modest extrapolations of the observed redshift distribution of faint galaxies (to which the results are somewhat sensitive). From the simulations we obtain formal best-fit model parameters for the dark halos of the lens galaxies that consist of a characteristic circular velocity of {ital V}{asterisk}{approximately}220{plus_minus}80 kms{sup {minus}1} and characteristic radial extent of {ital s}{asterisk}{approx_gt}100{ital h}{sup {minus}1} kpc. The predicted polarization based on the model is relatively insensitive to the characteristic radial extent of the halos, {ital s}{asterisk}, and very small halos ({ital s}{asterisk}{approximately}10{ital h}{sup {minus}1} kpc) are excluded only at the 2 {sigma} level. The formal best-fit halo parameters imply typical masses for the lens galaxies within a radius of 100{ital h}{sup -1} kpc on the order of 1.0{sup +1.2}{sub {minus}0.5}{times}10{sup 12} {ital h}{sup {minus}1}{ital M}{sub {circle_dot}} (90% confidence bounds), in agreement with recent dynamical estimates of the masses of local spiral galaxies.

One of the most fascinating predictions of the theory of general relativity is the effect of gravitationallensing, the bending of light in close proximity to massive stellar objects. Recently, artificial optical materials have been proposed to study the various aspects of curved spacetimes, including light trapping and Hawking's radiation. However, the development of experiments 'toy' models that simulate gravitationallensing in curved spacetimes remains a challenge, especially for visible light. Here, by utilizing a microstructured optical waveguide around a microsphere, we propose to mimic curved spacetimes caused by gravity, with high precision. We experimentally demonstrate both far-field gravitationallensing effects and the critical phenomenon in close proximity to the photon sphere of astrophysical objects under hydrostatic equilibrium. The proposed microstructured waveguide can be used as an omnidirectional absorber, with potential light harvesting and microcavity applications. This work is published at Nature Photonics 2013, DOI: 10.1038/NPHOTON.2013.247.

One of the most fascinating predictions of the theory of general relativity is the effect of gravitationallensing, the bending of light in close proximity to massive stellar objects. Recently, artificial optical materials have been proposed to study the various aspects of curved spacetimes, including light trapping and Hawking radiation. However, the development of experimental `toy' models that simulate gravitationallensing in curved spacetimes remains a challenge, especially for visible light. Here, by utilizing a microstructured optical waveguide around a microsphere, we propose to mimic curved spacetimes caused by gravity, with high precision. We experimentally demonstrate both far-field gravitationallensing effects and the critical phenomenon in close proximity to the photon sphere of astrophysical objects under hydrostatic equilibrium. The proposed microstructured waveguide can be used as an omnidirectional absorber, with potential light harvesting and microcavity applications.

The theory of gravitationallensing is reviewed from a spacetime perspective, without quasi-Newtonian approximations. More precisely, the review covers all aspects of gravitationallensing where light propagation is described in terms of lightlike geodesics of a metric of Lorentzian signature. It includes the basic equations and the relevant techniques for calculating the position, the shape, and the brightness of images in an arbitrary general-relativistic spacetime. It also includes general theorems on the classification of caustics, on criteria for multiple imaging, and on the possible number of images. The general results are illustrated with examples of spacetimes where the lensing features can be explicitly calculated, including the Schwarzschild spacetime, the Kerr spacetime, the spacetime of a straight string, plane gravitational waves, and others.

This thesis describes methodology for analysis of weak gravitationallensing data. Weak lensing, i.e. the perturbative distortion of the images of distant objects by the gravitational deflection of light, is an important tool for understanding the distribution of matter in the universe. This is interesting because a number of extentions to the standard cosmological model, including dynamical dark energy and neutrino masses, affect the growth of structure and hence may be detectable using weak lensing. Studies of weak lensing are also motivated by lensing's ability to affect the modes in the cosmic microwave background (CMB) polarization that are sensitive to primordial gravitational waves. Both lensing of galaxies and lensing of the CMB are considered here. The section devoted to galaxies is principally concerned with measuring the lensing-induced shape distortions from galaxy images in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), although the methodology will be applicable to future projects. We investigate in detail the problem of separating lensing from other shape distortions such as those induced by the atmosphere, the telescope, and photon Poisson noise. Since the intrinsic shapes of observed galaxies are not known, weak lensing observations always attempt some sort of statistical averaging over galaxies that presumably have independent orientations. We investigate the extent to which this process "averages down" the intrinsic shapes and identify a new type of bias that can affect the weak lensing power spectrum. Selection biases are considered and their importance in SDSS estimated. We present some recent cosmological results using the SDSS analysis, including new upper limits on the neutrino mass. Lensing of the CMB has not yet been detected, nevertheless several experiments are being built that should have the sensitivity to see it. The statistical problem of extracting lensing information from the distortion of the CMB anisotropy is considered, and in the case of

The Planck satellite, along with several ground-based telescopes, has mapped the cosmic microwave background (CMB) at sufficient resolution and signal-to-noise so as to allow a detection of the subtle distortions due to the gravitational influence of the intervening matter distribution. A natural modeling approach is to write a Bayesian hierarchical model for the lensed CMB in terms of the unlensed CMB and the lensing potential. So far there has been no feasible algorithm for inferring the posterior distribution of the lensing potential from the lensed CMB map. We propose a solution that allows efficient Markov Chain Monte Carlo sampling from the joint posterior of the lensing potential and the unlensed CMB map using the Hamiltonian Monte Carlo technique. The main conceptual step in the solution is a re-parameterization of CMB lensing in terms of the lensed CMB and the “inverse lensing” potential. We demonstrate a fast implementation on simulated data, including noise and a sky cut, that uses a further acceleration based on a very mild approximation of the inverse lensing potential. We find that the resulting Markov Chain has short correlation lengths and excellent convergence properties, making it promising for applications to high-resolution CMB data sets in the future.

In this paper we study gravitationallensing by STU black holes. We considered extremal limit of two special cases of zero-charged and one-charged black holes, and obtain the deflection angle. We find that the black hole charge increases the deflection angle.

As one of the probes of universe, strong gravitationallensing systems allow us to compare different cosmological models and constrain vital cosmological parameters. This purpose can be reached from the dynamic and geometry properties of strong gravitationallensing systems, for instance, time-delay Δτ of images, the velocity dispersion σ of the lensing galaxies and the combination of these two effects, Δτ/σ2. In this paper, in order to carry out one-on-one comparisons between ΛCDM universe and Rh = ct universe, we use a sample containing 36 strong lensing systems with the measurement of velocity dispersion from the Sloan Lens Advanced Camera for Surveys (SLACS) and Lens Structure and Dynamic survey (LSD) survey. Concerning the time-delay effect, 12 two-image lensing systems with Δτ are also used. In addition, Monte Carlo simulations are used to compare the efficiency of the three methods as mentioned above. From simulations, we estimate the number of lenses required to rule out one model at the 99.7 per cent confidence level. Comparing with constraints from Δτ and the velocity dispersion σ, we find that using Δτ/σ2 can improve the discrimination between cosmological models. Despite the independence tests of these methods reveal a correlation between Δτ/σ2 and σ, Δτ/σ2 could be considered as an improved method of σ if more data samples are available.

The black hole at the center of the galaxy is a powerful lens for supernova neutrinos. In the very special circumstance of a supernova near the extended line of sight from Earth to the galactic center, lensing could dramatically enhance the neutrino flux at Earth and stretch the neutrino pulse.

We introduce a new method for constraining the redshift distribution of a set of galaxies, using weak gravitationallensing shear. Instead of using observed shears and redshifts to constrain cosmological parameters, we ask how well the shears around clusters can constrain the redshifts, assuming fixed cosmological parameters. This provides a check on photometric redshifts, independent of source spectral energy distribution properties and therefore free of confounding factors such as misidentification of spectral breaks. We find that {approx}40 massive ({sigma}{sub v} = 1200 km s{sup -1}) cluster lenses are sufficient to determine the fraction of sources in each of six coarse redshift bins to {approx}11%, given weak (20%) priors on the masses of the highest-redshift lenses, tight (5%) priors on the masses of the lowest-redshift lenses, and only modest (20%-50%) priors on calibration and evolution effects. Additional massive lenses drive down uncertainties as N{sub lens}{sup -1/2}, but the improvement slows as one is forced to use lenses further down the mass function. Future large surveys contain enough clusters to reach 1% precision in the bin fractions if the tight lens-mass priors can be maintained for large samples of lenses. In practice this will be difficult to achieve, but the method may be valuable as a complement to other more precise methods because it is based on different physics and therefore has different systematic errors.

In recent years, cosmological science has developed a highly predictive model for the universe on large scales that is in quantitative agreement with a wide range of astronomical observations. While the number and diversity of successes of this model provide great confidence that our general picture of cosmology is correct, numerous puzzles remain. In this dissertation, I analyze the potential of planned and near future galaxy surveys to provide new understanding of several unanswered questions in cosmology, and address some of the leading challenges to this observational program. In particular, I study an emerging technique called cosmic shear, the weak gravitationallensing produced by large scale structure. I focus on developing strategies to optimally use the cosmic shear signal observed in galaxy imaging surveys to uncover the physics of dark energy and the early universe. In chapter 1 I give an overview of a few unsolved mysteries in cosmology and I motivate weak lensing as a cosmological probe. I discuss the use of weak lensing as a test of general relativity in chapter 2 and assess the threat to such tests presented by our uncertainty in the physics of galaxy formation. Interpreting the cosmic shear signal requires knowledge of the redshift distribution of the lensed galaxies. This redshift distribution will be significantly uncertain since it must be determined photometrically. In chapter 3 I investigate the influence of photometric redshift errors on our ability to constrain dark energy models with weak lensing. The ability to study dark energy with cosmic shear is also limited by the imprecision in our understanding of the physics of gravitational collapse. In chapter 4 I present the stringent calibration requirements on this source of uncertainty. I study the potential of weak lensing to resolve a debate over a long-standing anomaly in CMB measurements in chapter 5. Finally, in chapter 6 I summarize my findings and conclude with a brief discussion of my

We demonstrate the possibility of detecting tidal stripping of dark matter subhaloes within galaxy groups using weak gravitationallensing. We have run ray-tracing simulations on galaxy catalogues from the Millennium Simulation to generate mock shape catalogues. The ray-tracing catalogues assume a halo model for galaxies and groups using various models with different distributions of mass between galaxy and group haloes to simulate different stages of group evolution. Using these mock catalogues, we forecast the lensing signals that will be detected around galaxy groups and satellite galaxies, as well as test two different methods for isolating the satellites' lensing signals. A key challenge is to determine the accuracy to which group centres can be identified. We show that with current and ongoing surveys, it will possible to detect stripping in groups of mass 1012-1015 M⊙.

Amplification statistics of gravitationallylensed supernovae can provide a valuable probe of the lensing matter in the universe. A general probability distribution for amplification by compact objects is derived which allows calculation of the lensed fraction of supernovae at or greater than an amplification A and at or less than an apparent magnitude. Comparison of the computed fractions with future results from ongoing supernova searches can lead to determination of the mass density of compact dark matter components with masses greater than about 0.001 solar mass, while the time-dependent amplification (and polarization) of the expanding supernovae constrain the individual masses. Type II supernovae are found to give the largest fraction for deep surveys, and the optimum flux-limited search is found to be at approximately 23d magnitude, if evolution of the supernova rate is neglected.

We present approximate tests which can be applied to a newly observed quadruple QSO, or to a quadruplet of extended objects distorted by a foreground cluster of galaxies. These tests indicate whether the responsible gravitational lens may have a simple mass distribution. If the lens galaxy is detected, the tests give an approximate orientation for it, which can be compared with the observed orientation of the galaxy. The tests do not require construction of an explicit lens model, and therefore can save time and effort. In the case of many objects distorted by a cluster, these diagnostics can help to select possible quadruplet candidates.

Strong gravitationallensing probes the mass distributions of distant galaxies on scales from tens of kiloparsecs {dark matter halos and "macrolensing"} through parsecs {dark matter substructure and "millilensing"} all the way down to individual stars {"microlensing"}. Wonderful data are now available, thanks in large part to HST. However, the theoretical understanding of lensing on different scales is much less mature, which has complicated efforts to interpret the data. We have begun a comprehensive theoretical study of multiscale lensing, to develop a formalism that will enable us both to interpret existing data and to inspire and guide new observations. In this proposal, we specifically seek to develop the first code that simultaneously includes macro-, milli-, and microlensing. We will then use it to: {1} Find clear observational signatures that reveal the scale{s} being probed in data, and then resolve the debate about whether millilensing truly reveals Cold Dark Matter substructure. {2} Show how observations at different scales can constrain the mass function of stars in lens galaxies, and apply the method to existing HST data for seven distant galaxies. {3} Examine non-linearities that link micro-, milli-, and macrolensing, and use the combined analysis to open a new window on dark matter studies with strong lensing. We will also make the code available to the community as part of PI Keeton's public lensing software.

This award was intended to provide financial support for an international astrophysics conference on gravitationallensing which was held at Boston University from July 25 to July 30, 1999. Because of the nature of the award, no specific research was proposed, nor was any carried out. The participants at the conference presented results of their on-going research efforts, and written summaries of their presentations have been published by the Astronomical Society of the Pacific as part of their conference series. The reference to the conference proceedings book is GravitationalLensing: Recent Progress and Future Goals, ASP Conference Series volume 237, eds. T. G. Brainerd and C. S. Kochanek (2001). The ISBN number of this book is 1-58381-074-9. The goal of the conference was to bring together both senior and junior investigators who were actively involved in all aspects of gravitationallensing research. This was the first conference in four years to address gravitationallensing from such a broad perspective (the previous such conference being IAU Symposium 173 held in Melbourne, Australia in July 1995). The conference was attended by 190 participants, who represented of order 70 different institutions and of order 15 different countries. The Scientific Organizing Committee members were Matthias Bartelmann (co-chair), Tereasa Brainerd (co-chair), Ian Browne, Richard Ellis, Nick Kaiser, Yannick Mellier, Sjur Refsdal, HansWalter Rix, Joachim Wambsganss, and Rachel Webster. The Local Organizing Committee members were Tereasa Brainerd (chair), Emilio Falco, Jacqueline Hewitt, Christopher Kochanek, and Irwin Shapiro. The oral sessions were organized around specific applications of gravitationallensing and included invited reviews, invited 'targeted talks', and contributed talks. The review speakers were Roger Blandford, Tereasa Brainerd, Gus Evrard, Nick Kaiser, Guinevere Kaufmann, Chris Kochanek, Charley Lineweaver, Gerry Luppino, Shude Mao, Paul Schechter, Peter

Using an array of multi-wavelength data, we examine a variety of astrophysical problems with gravitationallensing. First, we seek to understand the mass distribution of an early-type galaxy with an analysis of the lens Q0957+561. We dissect the lens galaxy into luminous and dark components, and model the environment using results from weak lensing. Combining constraints from newly-discovered lensed images and stellar population models, we find the lens has a density profile which is shallower than isothermal, unlike those of typical early-type galaxies. Finally, using the measured time delay between the quasar images we find the Hubble constant to be H 0 = 79.3+6.7-8.5 km s-1 Mpc-1 . One intriguing application of lensing is to exploit the lens magnification boost to study high-redshift objects in greater detail than otherwise possible. Here, we analyze the mid-infrared properties of two lensed z ˜ 2 star-forming galaxies, SDSS J120602.09+514229.5 and SDSS J090122.37+181432.3, using Spitzer /IRS spectra to study their rest-frame ˜ 5-12 μm emission. Both systems exhibit strong polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) features in the spectra, indicating strong star formation and the absence of significant AGN activity. For SDSS J090122.37+181432.3, this detection belies that inferred from optical measurements, indicating mid-IR spectroscopy provides key information needed to understand the properties of high-redshift star-forming galaxies. While lensing provides measurements of the macroscopic properties of lens systems, it can also shed light on small-scale structure of galaxies. To identify and understand lens substructure, we examine the multi-wavelength properties of flux ratios for six lenses. Variations of the flux ratios with wavelength can be used to study the lensed quasars and the small-scale mass distribution of lens galaxies. We detect strong multi-wavelength variations in the lenses HE 0435-1223 and SDSS 0806+2006. For HE 0435-1223, we study its

Possible connections between the inhomogeneities responsible for the Lyman-alpha forest in quasar spectra and gravitationallensing effects are investigated. For most models of the Lyman-alpha forest, no significant lensing is expected. For some versions of the CDM model-based minihalo hypothesis, gravitationallensings on scales less than abour 0.1 arcsec would occur with a frequency approaching that with which ordinary galaxies cause arcsecond scale lensing.

For a general class of analytic functions f(R,RαβRαβ,RαβγδRαβγδ) we discuss the gravitationallensing in the Newtonian limit of theory. From the properties of the Gauss-Bonnet invariant it is enough to consider only one curvature invariant between the Ricci tensor and the Riemann tensor. Then, we analyze the dynamics of a photon embedded in a gravitational field of a generic f(R,RαβRαβ) gravity. The metric is time independent and spherically symmetric. The metric potentials are Schwarzschild-like, but there are two additional Yukawa terms linked to derivatives of f with respect to two curvature invariants. Considering first the case of a pointlike lens, and after the one of a generic matter distribution of the lens, we study the deflection angle and the angular position of images. Though the additional Yukawa terms in the gravitational potential modifies dynamics with respect to general relativity, the geodesic trajectory of the photon is unaffected by the modification if we consider only f(R) gravity. We find different results (deflection angle smaller than the angle of general relativity) only due to the introduction of a generic function of the Ricci tensor square. Finally, we can affirm that the lensing phenomena for all f(R) gravities are equal to the ones known for general relativity. We conclude the paper by showing and comparing the deflection angle and position of images for f(R,RαβRαβ) gravity with respect to the gravitationallensing of general relativity.

Despite consistent progress in numerical simulations, the observable properties of galaxy clusters are difficult to predict ab initio. It is therefore important to compare both theoretical and observational results to a direct measure of the cluster mass. This can be done by measuring the gravitationallensing effects caused by the bending of light by the cluster mass distribution. In this review we discuss how this phenomenon can be used to determine cluster masses and study the mass distribution itself. As sample sizes increase, the accuracy of the weak lensing mass estimates needs to improve accordingly. We discuss the main practical aspects of these measurements. We review a number of applications and highlight some recent results.

In the search for the nature of dark energy most cosmological probes measure simple functions of the expansion rate. While powerful, these all involve roughly the same dependence on the dark energy equation of state parameters, with anticorrelation between its present value w{sub 0} and time variation w{sub a}. Quantities that have instead positive correlation and so a sensitivity direction largely orthogonal to, e.g., distance probes offer the hope of achieving tight constraints through complementarity. Such quantities are found in strong gravitationallensing observations of image separations and time delays. While degeneracy between cosmological parameters prevents full complementarity, strong lensing measurements to 1 percent accuracy can improve equation of state characterization by 15-50 percent. Next generation surveys should provide data on roughly 105 lens systems, though systematic errors will remain challenging.

Gravitationallensing is one of the most promising methods of analyzing massive astronomical objects such as galaxy clusters. The weak gravitationallensing signal, which is called shear, is a measurement of the weak distortion of background galaxies in the linear regime of the lensing field. Shear analysis effectively estimates the main properties of galaxy clusters such as the mass and scale of the lensing system. The second order gravitationallensing signal, flexion, is dominant in the non-linear regime of the lensing field that bridges the strong and weak lensing regimes. It has also recently arisen as a robust method to detect substructures in galaxy clusters due to its sensitivity to the gradient of convergence and shear field. In this poster we propose that combining the shear and flexion analysis can give more information about the detailed structure of the lensing system.

We investigate the potential of high-energy astrophysical events, from which both massless and massive signals are detected, to probe fundamental physics. In particular, we consider how strong gravitationallensing can induce time delays in multimessenger signals from the same source. Obvious messenger examples are massless photons and gravitational waves, and massive neutrinos, although more exotic applications can also be imagined, such as to massive gravitons or axions. The different propagation times of the massive and massless particles can, in principle, place bounds on the total neutrino mass and probe cosmological parameters. Whilst measuring such an effect may pose a significant experimental challenge, we believe that the "massive time delay" represents an unexplored fundamental physics phenomenon.

The CASTLES survey (Cfa-Arizona-(H)ST-Lens-Survey) is imaging most known small-separation gravitationallenses (or lens candidates), using the NICMOS camera (mostly H-band) and the WFPC2 (V and I band) on HST. To date nearly half of the IR imaging survey has been completed. The main goals are: (1) to search for lens galaxies where none have been directly detected so far; (2) obtain photometric redshift estimates (VIH) for the lenses where no spectroscopic redshifts exist; (3) study and model the lens galaxies in detail, in part to study the mass distribution within them, in part to identify ``simple" systems that may permit accurate time delay estimates for H_0; (3) measure the M/L evolution of the sample of lens galaxies with look-back time (to z ~ 1); (4) determine directly which fraction of sources are lensed by ellipticals vs. spirals. We will present the survey specifications and the images obtained so far.

Recently, Holz and Wald [Phys. Rev. D 58 (1998) 063501] have presented a method for determining gravitationallensing effects in inhomogeneous universes. Their use of realistic galaxy models has been limited to the singular, truncated isothermal sphere with a fixed mass. In this paper, their method is generalized to allow for matter distributions more accurately describing the actual properties of galaxies, as derived from observations and /N-body simulations. This includes the density profile proposed by Navarro, Frenk and White, as well as a distribution of galaxy masses. As an example of the possible applications of the method, we consider lensing effects on supernova luminosity distributions. We find that results for different mass distributions of smooth dark matter halos are very similar, making lensing effects predictable for a broad range of halo profiles. We also note, in agreement with other investigations, that one should be able to discriminate smooth halos from a dominant component of dark matter in compact objects. For instance, a sample of 100 supernovae at redshift /z=1 can, with 99% certainty, discriminate the case where all matter is in compact objects from the case where matter is in smooth halos.

According to the General Theory of Relativity the gravity curves the spacetime and everything over there follows a curved path. The space being curved near massive cosmic bodies is just a metaphor, not a fact. We dough that gravity is only geometry. The deflection of light (GravitationalLensing) near massive cosmic bodies is not due because of a ``curved space'', but because of the medium composition (medium that could be formed by waves, particles, plasma, dust, gaseous, fluids, solids, etc.), to the medium density, medium heterogeneity, and to the electromagnetic and gravitational fields contained in that medium that light passes through. This medium deviates the light direction, because of the interactions of photons with other particles. The space is not empty; it has various nebulae and fields and corpuscles, etc. Light bends not only because of the gravity but also because of the medium gradient and refraction index, similarly as light bends when it leaves or enters a liquid, a plastic, a glass, or a quartz. The inhomogeneous medium may act as an optical lens such that its refractive index varies in a fashion, alike the Gradient-Index Lens. We talk about a Medium Lensing, which means that photons interact with other particles in the medium. For example, the interaction between a photon of electromagnetic radiation with a charged particle (let's say with a free electron), which is known as Compton Effect, produces an increase in the photon's wavelength. In the Inverse Compton Effect the low-energy photons gain energy because they were scattered by much-higher energy free electrons.

The observables in a strong gravitational lens are usually just the image positions and sometimes the flux ratios. We develop a new and simple algorithm which allows a set of models to be fitted exactly to the observations. Taking our cue from the strong body of evidence that early-type galaxies are close to isothermal, we assume that the lens is scale-free with a flat rotation curve. External shear can be easily included. Our algorithm allows full flexibility regarding the angular structure of the lensing potential. Importantly, all the free parameters enter linearly into the model and so the lens and flux ratio equations can always be solved by straightforward matrix inversion. The models are only restricted by the fact that the surface mass density must be positive. We use this new algorithm to examine some of the claims made for anomalous flux ratios. It has been argued that such anomalies betray the presence of substantial amounts of substructure in the lensing galaxy. We demonstrate by explicit construction that some of the lens systems for which substructure has been claimed can be well fitted by smooth lens models. This is especially the case when the systematic errors in the flux ratios (caused by microlensing or differential extinction) are taken into account. However, there is certainly one system (B1422+231) for which the existing smooth models are definitely inadequate and for which substructure may be implicated. Within a few tens of kpc of the lensing galaxy centre, dynamical friction and tidal disruption are known to be very efficient at dissolving any substructure. Very little substructure is projected within the Einstein radius. The numbers of strong lenses for which substructure is currently being claimed may be so large that this contradicts rather than supports cold dark matter theories.

We investigate the gravitationallensing scenario due to Schwarzschild-like black hole surrounded by quintessence (Kiselev black hole). We work for the special case of Kiselev black hole where we take the state parameter wq=-2/3 . For the detailed derivation and analysis of the bending angle involved in the deflection of light, we discuss three special cases of Kiselev black hole: nonextreme, extreme, and naked singularity. We also calculate the approximate bending angle and compare it with the exact bending angle. We found the relation of bending angles in the decreasing order as: naked singularity, extreme Kiselev black hole, nonextreme Kiselev black hole, and Schwarzschild black hole. In the weak field approximation, we compute the position and total magnification of relativistic images as well.

We study a class of gravitationallensing systems consisting of an inclined ring/belt, with and without an added point mass at the centre. We show that a common feature of such systems are so-called pseudo-caustics, across which the magnification of a point source changes discontinuously and yet remains finite. Such a magnification change can be associated with either a change in image multiplicity or a sudden change in the size of a lensed image. The existence of pseudo-caustics and the complex interplay between them and the formal caustics (which correspond to points of infinite magnification) can lead to interesting consequences, such as truncated or open caustics and a non-conservation of total image parity. The origin of the pseudo-caustics is found to be the non-differentiability of the solutions to the lens equation across the ring/belt boundaries, with the pseudo-caustics corresponding to ring/belt boundaries mapped into the source plane. We provide a few illustrative examples to understand the pseudo-caustic features, and in a separate paper consider a specific astronomical application of our results to study microlensing by extrasolar asteroid belts.

We present an extension to multiple planes of the gravitationallensing code GLAMER. The method entails projecting the mass in the observed light-cone on to a discrete number of lens planes and inverse ray-shooting from the image to the source plane. The mass on each plane can be represented as haloes, simulation particles, a projected mass map extracted form a numerical simulation or any combination of these. The image finding is done in a source-oriented fashion, where only regions of interest are iteratively refined on an initially coarse image plane grid. The calculations are performed in parallel on shared memory machines. The code is able to handle different types of analytic haloes (NFW, NSIE, power law, etc.), haloes extracted from numerical simulations and clusters constructed from semi-analytic models (MOKA). Likewise, there are several different options for modelling the source(s) which can be distributed throughout the light-cone. The distribution of matter in the light-cone can be either taken from a pre-existing N-body numerical simulations, from halo catalogues, or are generated from an analytic mass function. We present several tests of the code and demonstrate some of its applications such as generating mock images of galaxy and galaxy cluster lenses.

We model massive compact objects in galactic nuclei as stationary, axially symmetric naked singularities in the Einstein-massless scalar field theory and study the resulting gravitationallensing. In the weak deflection limit we study analytically the position of the two weak field images, the corresponding signed and absolute magnifications as well as the centroid up to post-Newtonian order. We show that there are static post-Newtonian corrections to the signed magnification and their sum as well as to the critical curves, which are functions of the scalar charge. The shift of the critical curves as a function of the lens angular momentum is found, and it is shown that they decrease slightly for the weakly naked and vastly for the strongly naked singularities with the increase of the scalar charge. The pointlike caustics drift away from the optical axis and do not depend on the scalar charge. In the strong deflection limit approximation, we compute numerically the position of the relativistic images and their separability for weakly naked singularities. All of the lensing quantities are compared to particular cases as Schwarzschild and Kerr black holes as well as Janis-Newman-Winicour naked singularities.

The gravitationallensing effects in the weak gravitational field by exotic lenses have been investigated intensively to find nonluminous exotic objects. Gravitationallensing based on 1/rn fall-off metric, as a one-parameter model that can treat by hand both the Schwarzschild lens (n =1) and the Ellis wormhole (n =2) in the weak field, has been recently studied. Only for n=1 case, however, it has been explicitly shown that effects of relativistic lens images by the strong field on the light curve can be neglected. We discuss whether relativistic images by the strong field can be neglected for n>1 in the Tangherlini spacetime which is one of the simplest models for our purpose. We calculate the divergent part of the deflection angle for arbitrary n and the regular part for n=1, 2 and 4 in the strong field limit, the deflection angle for arbitrary n under the weak gravitational approximation. We also compare the radius of the Einstein ring with the radii of the relativistic Einstein rings for arbitrary n. We conclude that the images in the strong gravitational field have little effect on the total light curve and that the time-symmetric demagnification parts in the light curve will appear even after taking account of the images in the strong gravitational field for n>1.

This grant has supported papers which present a new direction in the theory and interpretation of gravitationallenses. During the second year we have focused more closely on the relationship of baryons and dark matter.

Summer Lecture Series 2009: Gravitationallensing is explained by Einstein's general theory of relativity: galaxies and clusters of galaxies, which are very massive objects, act on spacetime by causing it to become curved. Alexie Leauthaud and Reiko Nakajima, astrophysicists with the Berkeley Center for Cosmological Physics, will discuss how scientists use gravitationallensing to investigate the nature of dark energy and dark matter in the universe.

July 28, 2009 Berkeley Lab summer lecture: Gravitationallensing is explained by Einstein's general theory of relativity: galaxies and clusters of galaxies, which are very massive objects, act on spacetime by causing it to become curved. Alexie Leauthaud and Reiko Nakajima, astrophysicists with the Berkeley Center for Cosmological Physics, will discuss how scientists use gravitationallensing to investigate the nature of dark energy and dark matter in the universe.

Summer Lecture Series 2009: Gravitationallensing is explained by Einstein's general theory of relativity: galaxies and clusters of galaxies, which are very massive objects, act on spacetime by causing it to become curved. Alexie Leauthaud and Reiko Nakajima, astrophysicists with the Berkeley Center for Cosmological Physics, will discuss how scientists use gravitationallensing to investigate the nature of dark energy and dark matter in the universe.

Strong gravitationallenses have numerous applications in astrophysics and cosmology. We expect to discover thousands of strong gravitationallenses from the Hyper Suprime-Cam (HSC) Survey, thanks to its unique combination of deep and wide imaging. I will give highlights on a few interesting gravitationallenses that were discovered recently from early HSC data, for example, the first spectroscopically confirmed double source plane (DSP) lens system dubbed ''Eye of Horus'' and the highest-redshift quadruply-lensed low-luminosity Active Galactic Nucleus (LLAGN).DSP lenses such as ''Eye of Horus'' are even more rare than ordinary lenses but provide tighter constraints on the lens mass distribution and can also be useful to measure cosmological parameters such as Dark Energy and Matter density parameter. The lensed LLAGN discovered recently from HSC is only the second such lens system in our knowledge. LLAGNs are thought to have differentmechanisms driving their nuclear activity compared to their brighter counterparts i.e. quasars. Our knowledge about this abundant but faint population of AGNs is limited to the local universe so far. But lensing magnification will allow studies of distant LLAGNs which should be discovered in large numbers from a deep survey like HSC for the first time. Also, owing to the variable nature of LLAGNs, they could potentially be used as a cosmological probe similar to the lensed quasars.

We present a novel approach to reconstructing the projected mass distribution from the sparse and noisy weak gravitationallensing shear data. The reconstructions are regularized via the knowledge gained from numerical simulations of clusters, with trial mass distributions constructed from n NFW profile ellipsoidal components. The parameters of these ''atoms'' are distributed a priori as in the simulated clusters. Sampling the mass distributions from the atom parameter probability density function allows estimates of the properties of the mass distribution to be generated, with error bars. The appropriate number of atoms is inferred from the data itself via the Bayesian evidence, and is typically found to be small, reecting the quality of the data. Ensemble average mass maps are found to be robust to the details of the noise realization, and succeed in recovering the demonstration input mass distribution (from a realistic simulated cluster) over a wide range of scales. As an application of such a reliable mapping algorithm, we comment on the residuals of the reconstruction and the implications for predicting convergence and shear at specific points on the sky.

Gravitationallensing by galaxies in a wide variety of cosmological models is considered. For closed models, the lensing depends on the parameter beta(crit). If beta(crit) is greater than zero, a normal lensing case can be obtained with two bright images separated by an angle twice beta(crit) and a third, arbitrarily dim image between them coincident with the position of the lensing galaxy nucleus. As the QSO approaches the antipodal redshift, which can occur in models with large values of the cosmological constant, the cross sections for lensing blow up. An overfocused case where beta(crit) is less than zero can be obtained for a QSO beyond the antipodal redshift. In this case, when a lensing event occurs, only one arbitrarily dim image coincident with the position of the lensing galaxy nucleus is seen. If galaxy rotation curves are always flat or slowly rising, the overfocused case always produces one image.

Gravitationallenses, besides being interesting in their own right, have been demonstrated to be suitable as "gravitational standard rulers" for the measurement of the rate of expansion of the Universe (Ho), as well as to constrain the values of the cosmological parameters such as Omegao and Lambdao that control the evolution of the volume of the Universe with cosmic time.

The grant has supported the completion of 16 papers and 4 conference proceedings to date. During the first year of the project we completed five papers, each of which represents a new direction in the theory and interpretation of gravitationallenses. In the first paper, "The Importance of Einstein Rings", we developed the first theory for the formation and structure of the Einstein rings formed by lensing extended sources like the host galaxies of quasar and radio sources. We applied the theory to three lenses with lensed host galaxies. For the time delay lens PG 1115+080 we found that the structure of the Einstein ring ruled out models of the gravitational potential which permitted a large Hubble constant (70 km/s Mpc). In the second paper, :Cusped Mass Models Of GravitationalLenses", we introduced a new class of lens models where the central density is characterized by a cusp ( rho proportional to tau(sup -gamma), 1 less than gamma less than 2) as in most modern models and theories of galaxies rather than a finite core radius. In the third paper, "Global Probes of the Impact of Baryons on Dark Matter Halos", we made the first globally consistent models for the separation distribution of gravitationallenses including both galaxy and cluster lenses. We show that the key physics for the origin of the sharp separation cutoff in the separation distribution near 3 arc sec is the effect of the cooling baryons in galaxies on the density structure of the system.

The probability distributions of time delay in gravitationallensing by point masses and isolated galaxies (modeled as singular isothermal spheres) are studied. For point lenses (all with the same mass) the probability distribution is broad, and with a peak at delta(t) of about 50 S; for singular isothermal spheres, the probability distribution is a rapidly decreasing function with increasing time delay, with a median delta(t) equals about 1/h month, and its behavior depends sensitively on the luminosity function of galaxies. The present simplified calculation is particularly relevant to the gamma-ray bursts if they are of cosmological origin. The frequency of 'recurrent' bursts due to gravitationallensing by galaxies is probably between 0.05 and 0.4 percent. Gravitationallensing can be used as a test of the cosmological origin of gamma-ray bursts.

The strong gravitational fields created by black holes dramatically affect the propagation of photons by bending their trajectories. Gravitationallensing thus stands as the main source of information on the space-time structure in such extreme regimes. We will review the theory and phenomenology of gravitationallensing by black holes, with the generation of higher order images and giant caustics by rotating black holes. We will then focus on Sgr A*, the black hole at the center of the Milky Way, for which next-to-come technology will be able to reach resolutions of the order of the Schwarzschild radius and ultimately test the existence of an event horizon.

Strong lensing has developed into an important astrophysical tool for probing both cosmology and galaxies (their structure, formation, and evolution). Using the gravitationallensing theory and cluster mass distribution model, we try to collect a relatively complete observational data concerning the Hubble constant independent ratio between two angular diameter distances D{sub ds}/D{sub s} from various large systematic gravitational lens surveys and lensing by galaxy clusters combined with X-ray observations, and check the possibility to use it in the future as complementary to other cosmological probes. On one hand, strongly gravitationallylensed quasar-galaxy systems create such a new opportunity by combining stellar kinematics (central velocity dispersion measurements) with lensing geometry (Einstein radius determination from position of images). We apply such a method to a combined gravitational lens data set including 70 data points from Sloan Lens ACS (SLACS) and Lens Structure and Dynamics survey (LSD). On the other hand, a new sample of 10 lensing galaxy clusters with redshifts ranging from 0.1 to 0.6 carefully selected from strong gravitationallensing systems with both X-ray satellite observations and optical giant luminous arcs, is also used to constrain three dark energy models (ΛCDM, constant w and CPL) under a flat universe assumption. For the full sample (n = 80) and the restricted sample (n = 46) including 36 two-image lenses and 10 strong lensing arcs, we obtain relatively good fitting values of basic cosmological parameters, which generally agree with the results already known in the literature. This results encourages further development of this method and its use on larger samples obtained in the future.

Gravitationallensing has proven to be a very valuable tool as a probe to better understand our universe. Parametric modeling of one multiple image gravitational lens system at a time is a common practice in the field of lensing. Instead of individual lens modeling, an alternative approach is to use symmetries in different spaces to make conclusions about families of lenses. The latter method is the focus of this thesis. Three types of lenses are defined based on whether they do or do not obey two-fold and double mirror symmetries. The analysis concentrates on quadruply imaged systems, or quads, and uses only the relative polar angles of quads around the center of the lens. The analysis is statistical in nature, and model-free because its conclusions relate to whole classes of models, instead of specific models. The work done here is twofold. Firstly, exploratory analysis is done to check for possible existence of degeneracies. Type I lenses which obey both symmetries mentioned above are found to form a nearly invariant surface in the 3D space of relative image angles. In the same space, lenses that break the double mirror symmetry, grouped as Type II, form two distinct surfaces. In addition, degeneracy in this class of lenses is discovered. A preliminary study of the last group of lenses, Type III, that break both symmetries, is done. Secondly, quad distributions in the 3D space from each of the three families were compared to observed galaxy-lens quads. Three quarters of observed quads were inconsistent with the distribution of quads of Type I lenses. Type II lenses reproduce most individual lens systems but fail to reproduce the population properties of observed quads. Preliminary exploration of Type III lenses shows a very promising agreement with observations. Examples of Type IIIs are lenses with substructure (with clump masses larger than those responsible for flux ratio anomalies in quads), and lenses with luminous or dark nearby perturber galaxies, or line

Gravitationallylensed quasars are brighter than their unlensed counterparts and produce images with distinctive morphological signatures. Past searches and target-selection algorithms, in particular the Sloan Quasar Lens Search (SQLS), have relied on basic morphological criteria, which were applied to samples of bright, spectroscopically confirmed quasars. The SQLS techniques are not sufficient for searching into new surveys (e.g. DES, PS1, LSST), because spectroscopic information is not readily available and the large data volume requires higher purity in target/candidate selection. We carry out a systematic exploration of machine-learning techniques and demonstrate that a two-step strategy can be highly effective. In the first step, we use catalogue-level information (griz+WISE magnitudes, second moments) to pre-select targets, using artificial neural networks. The accepted targets are then inspected with pixel-by-pixel pattern recognition algorithms (gradient-boosted trees), to form a final set of candidates. The results from this procedure can be used to further refine the simpler SQLS algorithms, with a twofold (or threefold) gain in purity and the same (or 80 per cent) completeness at target-selection stage, or a purity of 70 per cent and a completeness of 60 per cent after the candidate-selection step. Simpler photometric searches in griz+WISE based on colour cuts would provide samples with 7 per cent purity or less. Our technique is extremely fast, as a list of candidates can be obtained from a Stage III experiment (e.g. DES catalogue/data base) in a few CPU hours. The techniques are easily extendable to Stage IV experiments like LSST with the addition of time domain information.

It is obvious that Electromagnetism encompasses all of physical nature, including gravity. Electromagnetism is the only entity in nature that propagates force at a distance. This extends and couples into the Universe, and is based on Atoms and Nuclei of Matter. NUCLEAR QUANTUM GRAVITATION states that Electromagnetic functions in Nuclei, Electromagnetically couple between Nuclei and Matter to produce Gravity - Gravitation. Some indications and proofs of this are: the levitation of glass spheres with an argon laser producing far greater results than explained by light pressure; Naval Seasat measurements of ocean elevations showing seawater dynamically collecting around sea mounts; the 13.5 degree shift of Foucault Pendulum during a solar eclipse; Fischbach studies of Evotos data showing a variation in the rate of gravitational accelerations equal to the Electromagnetic Force Constant; variation in gravity measurement devices when near more mass; accomplishment of faster than light speed by Doctor Ishii of Marquette University; accomplishment of faster than light speed by the University of California; Electromagnetic levitations by National High Magnetic Field Laboratory; laser tweezers equivalent to a traction beam, Scientific American; studies by the Naval Research Labs showing the neutron beam defraction pattern difference between Earth days and nights respective to the Sun and Moon; the Mercury two-thirds ratio phase locked to the Sun's gravity; and the 1 to 1 Electromagnetic gravitational locking of our own Moon to the Earth. It is very apparent that Gravity and Gravitation are Electromagnetic - NUCLEAR QUANTUM GRAVITATION.

Most of optical gravitationallenses recently discovered in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Quasar Lens Search (SQLS) have two-images rather than four images, in marked contrast to radio lenses for which the fraction of four-image lenses (quad fraction) is quite high. We revisit the quad fraction among optical lenses by taking the selection function of the SQLS into account. We find that the current observed quad fraction in the SQLS is indeed lower than, but consistent with, the prediction of our theoretical model. The low quad fraction among optical lenses, together with the high quad fraction among radio lenses, implies that the quasar optical luminosity function has a relatively shallow faint end slope.

Gravitationallensing has become one of the most powerful tools available for investigating the “dark side” of the universe. Cosmological strong gravitationallensing, in particular, probes the properties of the dense cores of dark matter halos over decades in mass and offers the opportunity to study the distant universe at flux levels and spatial resolutions otherwise unavailable. Studies of strongly lensed variable sources offer even further scientific opportunities. One of the challenges in realizing the potential of strong lensing is to understand the statistical context of both the individual systems that receive extensive follow-up study, as well as that of the larger samples of strong lenses that are now emerging from survey efforts. Motivated by these challenges, we have developed an image simulation pipeline, Pipeline for Images of Cosmological Strong lensing (PICS), to generate realistic strong gravitationallensing signals from group- and cluster-scale lenses. PICS uses a low-noise and unbiased density estimator based on (resampled) Delaunay Tessellations to calculate the density field; lensed images are produced by ray-tracing images of actual galaxies from deep Hubble Space Telescope observations. Other galaxies, similarly sampled, are added to fill in the light cone. The pipeline further adds cluster member galaxies and foreground stars into the lensed images. The entire image ensemble is then observed using a realistic point-spread function that includes appropriate detector artifacts for bright stars. Noise is further added, including such non-Gaussian elements as noise window-paning from mosaiced observations, residual bad pixels, and cosmic rays. The aim is to produce simulated images that appear identical—to the eye (expert or otherwise)—to real observations in various imaging surveys.

We present the most significant measurement of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) lensing potential to date (at a level of 40σ), using temperature and polarization data from the Planck 2015 full-mission release. Using a polarization-only estimator, we detect lensing at a significance of 5σ. We cross-check the accuracy of our measurement using the wide frequency coverage and complementarity of the temperature and polarization measurements. Public products based on this measurement include an estimate of the lensing potential over approximately 70% of the sky, an estimate of the lensing potential power spectrum in bandpowers for the multipole range 40 ≤ L ≤ 400, and an associated likelihood for cosmological parameter constraints. We find good agreement between our measurement of the lensing potential power spectrum and that found in the ΛCDM model that best fits the Planck temperature and polarization power spectra. Using the lensing likelihood alone we obtain a percent-level measurement of the parameter combination σ8Ω0.25m = 0.591 ± 0.021. We combine our determination of the lensing potential with the E-mode polarization, also measured by Planck, to generate an estimate of the lensing B-mode. We show that this lensing B-mode estimate is correlated with the B-modes observed directly by Planck at the expected level and with a statistical significance of 10σ, confirming Planck's sensitivity to this known sky signal. We also correlate our lensing potential estimate with the large-scale temperature anisotropies, detecting a cross-correlation at the 3σ level, as expected because of dark energy in the concordance ΛCDM model.

The problem of gravitationallensing by an ensemble of identical axisymmetric lenses randomly distributed on a single lens plane is considered and a formal expression is derived for the joint probability density of finding shear and convergence at a random point on the plane. The amplification probability for a source can be accurately estimated from the distribution in shear and convergence. This method is applied to two cases: lensing by an ensemble of point masses and by an ensemble of objects with Gaussian surface mass density. There is no convergence for point masses whereas shear is negligible for wide Gaussian lenses.

Weak-gravitational-lensing distortions to the intensity pattern of 21-cm radiation from the dark ages can be decomposed geometrically into curl and curl-free components. Lensing by primordial gravitational waves induces a curl component, while the contribution from lensing by density fluctuations is strongly suppressed. Angular fluctuations in the 21-cm background extend to very small angular scales, and measurements at different frequencies probe different shells in redshift space. There is thus a huge trove of information with which to reconstruct the curl component of the lensing field, allowing tensor-to-scalar ratios conceivably as small as r~10(-9)-far smaller than those currently accessible-to be probed.

The statistical properties of gravitationallensing due to smooth but nonuniform distributions of matter are considered. It is found that a majority of triple images had a parity characteristic for 'shear-induced' lensing. Almost all cases of triple or multiple imaging were associated with large surface density enhancements, and lensing objects were present between the images. Thus, the observed gravitational lens candidates for which no lensing object has been detected between the images are unlikely to be a result of asymmetric distribution of mass external to the image circle. In a model with smoothly variable surface mass density, moderately and highly amplified images tended to be single rather than multiple. An opposite trend was found in models which had singularities in the surface mass distribution.

During the first year of the project we completed five papers, each of which represents a new direction in the theory and interpretation of gravitationallenses. In the first paper, The Importance of Einstein Rings, we developed the first theory for the formation and structure of the Einstein rings formed by lensing extended sources like the host galaxies of quasar and radio sources. In the second paper, Cusped Mass Models Of GravitationalLenses, we introduced a new class of lens models. In the third paper, Global Probes of the Impact of Baryons on Dark Matter Halos, we made the first globally consistent models for the separation distribution of gravitationallenses including both galaxy and cluster lenses. The last two papers explore the properties of two lenses in detail. During the second year we have focused more closely on the relationship of baryons and dark matter. In the third year we have been further examining the relationship between baryons and dark matter. In the present year we extended our statistical analysis of lens mass distributions using a self-similar model for the halo mass distribution as compared to the luminous galaxy.

We presents results from X-ray observations of relativistic outflows in lensed quasars. The lensing magnification of the observed objects provides high signal-to-noise X-ray spectra of quasars showing the absorption signatures of relativistic outflows at redshifts near a crucial phase of black hole growth and the peak of cosmic AGN activity. We summarise the properties of the wide-angle relativistic outflow of the z = 1.51 NAL quasar HS 0810 detected in recent deep XMM-Newton and Chandra observations of this object. We also present preliminary results from a mini-survey of gravitationallylensed mini-BAL quasars performed with XMM-Newton.

Gravitationallenses, besides being interesting in their own right, have been demonstrated to be suitable as “gravitational standard rulers” for the measurement of the rate of expansion of the Universe (Ho), as well as to constrain the values of the cosmological parameters such as Ωo and Λo that control the evolution of the volume of the Universe with cosmic time. PMID:10200245

We discuss strong gravitationallensing of gravitational waves from the merging of massive black hole binaries in the context of the LISA mission. Detection of multiple events would provide invaluable information on competing theories of gravity, evolution and formation of structures and, possibly, constraints on H0 and other cosmological parameters. Most of the optical depth for lensing is provided by intervening massive galactic halos, for which wave optics effects are negligible. Probabilities to observe multiple events are sizable for a broad range of formation histories. For the most optimistic models, up to ≲ 4 multiple events with a signal to noise ratio ≳ 8 are expected in a 5-year mission. Chances are significant even for conservative models with either light (≲ 60%) or heavy (≲ 40%) seeds. Because of lensing amplification, some intrinsically too faint signals are brought over threshold (≲ 2 per year).

We develop a Feynman diagram approach to calculating correlations of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) in the presence of distortions. As one application, we focus on CMB distortions due to gravitationallensing by Large Scale Structure (LSS). We study the Hu-Okamoto quadratic estimator for extracting lensing from the CMB and derive the noise of the estimator up to O(ϕ4) in the lensing potential ϕ. By identifying the diagrams responsible for the previously noted large O(ϕ4) term, we conclude that the lensing expansion does not break down. The convergence can be significantly improved by a reorganization of the ϕ expansion. Our approach makes it simple to obtain expressions for quadratic estimators based on any CMB channel, including many previously unexplored cases. We briefly discuss other applications to cosmology of this diagrammatic approach, such as distortions of the CMB due to patchy reionization, or due to Faraday rotation from primordial axion fields.

Noncommutative geometry may be a starting point to a quantum gravity. We study the influence of the spacetime noncommutative parameter on the strong field gravitationallensing in the noncommutative Schwarzschild black-hole spacetime and obtain the angular position and magnification of the relativistic images. Supposing that the gravitational field of the supermassive central object of the galaxy can be described by this metric, we estimate the numerical values of the coefficients and observables for strong gravitationallensing. In comparison to the Reissner-Norstroem black hole, we find that the influences of the spacetime noncommutative parameter is similar to those of the charge, but these influences are much smaller. This may offer a way to distinguish a noncommutative black hole from a Reissner-Norstroem black hole, and may permit us to probe the spacetime noncommutative constant {theta} by the astronomical instruments in the future.

We present a weak lensing analysis of a sample of SDSS Compact Groups (CGs). Using the measured radial density contrast profile, we derive the average masses under the assumption of spherical symmetry, obtaining a velocity dispersion for the Singular Isothermal Spherical model, σV = 270 ± 40 km s-1, and for the NFW model, R_{200}=0.53± 0.10 h_{70}^{-1}Mpc. We test three different definitions of CGs centres to identify which best traces the true dark matter halo centre, concluding that a luminosity weighted centre is the most suitable choice. We also study the lensing signal dependence on CGs physical radius, group surface brightness, and morphological mixing. We find that groups with more concentrated galaxy members show steeper mass profiles and larger velocity dispersions. We argue that both, a possible lower fraction of interloper and a true steeper profile, could be playing a role in this effect. Straightforward velocity dispersion estimates from member spectroscopy yields σV ≈ 230 km s-1 in agreement with our lensing results.

We present a new test of the modified gravity endowed with the Vainshtein mechanism with the density profile of a galaxy cluster halo observed through gravitationallensing. A scalar degree of freedom in the galileon modified gravity is screened by the Vainshtein mechanism to recover Newtonian gravity in high-density regions, however it might not be completely hidden on the outer side of a cluster of galaxies. Then the modified gravity might yield an observational signature in a surface mass density of a cluster of galaxies measured through gravitationallensing, since the scalar field could contribute to the lensing potential. We investigate how the transition in the Vainshtein mechanism affects the surface mass density observed through gravitationallensing, assuming that the density profile of a cluster of galaxies follows the original Navarro-Frenk-White (NFW) profile, the generalized NFW profile and the Einasto profile. We compare the theoretical predictions with observational results of the surface mass density reported recently by other researchers. We obtain constraints on the amplitude and the typical scale of the transition in the Vainshtein mechanism in a subclass of the generalized galileon model.

Gravitationallensing has been simulated for numerical galaxy clusters in order to characterize the effects of substructure and shape variations of dark matter halos on the weak lensing properties of clusters. In order to analyze realistic galaxy clusters, 6 high-resolution Adaptive Refinement Tree N-body simulations of clusters with hydrodynamics are used, in addition to a simulation of one group undergoing a merger. For each cluster, the three-dimensional particle distribution is projected perpendicular to three orthogonal lines of sight, providing 21 projected mass density maps. The clusters have representative concentration and mass values for clusters in the concordance cosmology. Two gravitationallensing simulation methods are presented. In the first method, direct integration is used to calculate deflection angles. To overcome computational constraints inherent in this method, a distributed computing project was created for parallel computation. In addition to its use in gravitationallensing simulation, a description of the setup and function of this distributed computing project is presented as an alternative to in-house computing clusters, which has the added benefit of public enrollment in science and low cost. In the second method, shear maps are created using a fast Fourier transform method. From these shear maps, the effects of substructure and shape variation are related to observational gravitationallensing studies. Average shear in regions less than and greater than half of the virial radius demonstrates distinct dispersion, varying by 24% from the mean among the 21 maps. We estimate the numerical error in shear calculations to be of the order of 5%. Therefore, this shear dispersion is a reliable consequence of shape dispersion, correlating most strongly with the ratio of smallest-to-largest principal axis lengths of a cluster isodensity shell. On the other hand, image ellipticities, which are of great importance in mass reconstruction, are shown

Weak gravitationallensing is normally assumed to have only two principle effects: a magnification of a source and a distortion of the sources shape in the form of a shear. However, further distortions are actually present owing to changes in the gravitational field across the scale of the ray bundle of light propagating to us, resulting in the familiar arcs in lensed images. This is normally called the flexion, and is approximated by Taylor expanding the shear and magnification across the image plane. However, the physical origin of this effect arises from higher-order corrections in the geodesic deviation equation governing the gravitational force between neighbouring geodesics— so involves derivatives of the Riemann tensor. We show that integrating the second-order geodesic deviation equation results in a 'Hessian map' for gravitationallensing, which is a higher-order addition to the Jacobi map. We derive the general form of the Hessian map in an arbitrary spacetime paying particular attention to the separate effects of local Ricci versus non-local Weyl curvature. We then specialise to the case of a perturbed FLRW model, and give the general form of the Hessian for the first time. This has a host of new contributions which could in principle be used as tests for modified gravity.

Recently, Y. Sobouti (2007) has provided a metric theory f(R) that can account for certain dynamical anomalies observed in spiral galaxies. Mendoza & Rosas-Guevara (2007) have shown that in this theory there is an extra-bending as compared to standard general relativity. In the present work we have developed in more specific detail this additional lensing effect and we have made evaluations of the α parameter used in the model adjusting the theory to observations in X-rays of 13 clusters of galaxies with gravitationallensing ([6]).

Probing the relative speeds of gravitational waves and light acts as an important test of general relativity and alternative theories of gravity. Measuring the arrival time of gravitational waves (GWs) and electromagnetic (EM) counterparts can be used to measure the relative speeds, but only if the intrinsic time lag between emission of the photons and gravitational waves is well understood. Here we suggest a method that does not make such an assumption, using future strongly lensed GW events and EM counterparts; Biesiada et al. [J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys.10 (2014) 080, 10.1088/1475-7516/2014/10/080] forecast that 50-100 strongly lensed GW events will be observed each year with the Einstein Telescope. A single strongly lensed GW event would produce robust constraints on cGW/cγ at the 10-7 level, if a high-energy EM counterpart is observed within the field of view of an observing γ -ray burst monitor.

It is shown which properties of a strong gravitational lens can in principle be recovered from observations of multiple extended images when no assumptions are made about the deflector or sources. The mapping between individual multiple images is identified as the carrier of information about the gravitational lens and it is shown how this information can be extracted from a hypothetical observation. The derivatives of the image map contain information about convergence ratios and reduced shears over the regions of the multiple images. For two observed images, it is not possible to reconstruct the convergence ratio and shear at the same time. For three observed images, it is possible to recover the convergence ratios and reduced shears identically. For four or more observed images, the system of constraints is overdetermined, but the same quantities can theoretically be recovered.

Data from the Hyper Suprime-Cam (HSC) survey on the Subaru telescope show great promise for weak gravitationallensing science. The unprecedented combination of area, depth, and imaging quality of this survey (with median i-band seeing of 0.6 arcsec) will enable a wide array of weak lensing measurements, with significant contributions from lenses up to redshift z~1. Applications include cosmological weak lensing measurements from shear-shear and galaxy-shear correlations, which will be especially powerful when combined with the overlapping SDSS-III spectroscopic datasets; and studies of the dark matter halos of galaxies and galaxy clusters. In this talk, I will demonstrate the imaging quality and the tests used to validate the weak lensing measurements. These include null tests internal to the data, comparisons with external datasets, and image simulation-based tests. I will also show the lensing mass profiles of spectroscopic galaxies from the SDSS-III, illustrating the current signal-to-noise ratio on small and large scales and demonstrating the potential for innovative galaxy and cosmological science with the complete survey area.

A new image-stabilizing camera was used to search for closely spaced images of a sample of 25 intrinsically luminous quasars with z greater than 1.6 and m smaller than 19. Observations of seven similarly selected quasars with the regular CCD camera in good seeing conditions are also reported. Of the 32 quasars, seven are gravitational lens candidates. Two of these have subarcsecond separations. Additional information on all these candidates is required. 22 refs.

We propose a new model-independent measurement strategy for the propagation speed of gravitational waves (GWs) based on strongly lensed GWs and their electromagnetic (EM) counterparts. This can be done in two ways: by comparing arrival times of GWs and their EM counterparts and by comparing the time delays between images seen in GWs and their EM counterparts. The lensed GW-EM event is perhaps the best way to identify an EM counterpart. Conceptually, this method does not rely on any specific theory of massive gravitons or modified gravity. Its differential setting (i.e., measuring the difference between time delays in GW and EM domains) makes it robust against lens modeling details (photons and GWs travel in the same lensing potential) and against internal time delays between GW and EM emission acts. It requires, however, that the theory of gravity is metric and predicts gravitationallensing similar to general relativity. We expect that such a test will become possible in the era of third-generation gravitational-wave detectors, when about 10 lensed GW events would be observed each year. The power of this method is mainly limited by the timing accuracy of the EM counterpart, which for kilonovae is around 10^{4} s. This uncertainty can be suppressed by a factor of ∼10^{10}, if strongly lensed transients of much shorter duration associated with the GW event can be identified. Candidates for such short transients include short γ-ray bursts and fast radio bursts.

We propose a new model-independent measurement strategy for the propagation speed of gravitational waves (GWs) based on strongly lensed GWs and their electromagnetic (EM) counterparts. This can be done in two ways: by comparing arrival times of GWs and their EM counterparts and by comparing the time delays between images seen in GWs and their EM counterparts. The lensed GW-EM event is perhaps the best way to identify an EM counterpart. Conceptually, this method does not rely on any specific theory of massive gravitons or modified gravity. Its differential setting (i.e., measuring the difference between time delays in GW and EM domains) makes it robust against lens modeling details (photons and GWs travel in the same lensing potential) and against internal time delays between GW and EM emission acts. It requires, however, that the theory of gravity is metric and predicts gravitationallensing similar to general relativity. We expect that such a test will become possible in the era of third-generation gravitational-wave detectors, when about 10 lensed GW events would be observed each year. The power of this method is mainly limited by the timing accuracy of the EM counterpart, which for kilonovae is around 1 04 s . This uncertainty can be suppressed by a factor of ˜1 010, if strongly lensed transients of much shorter duration associated with the GW event can be identified. Candidates for such short transients include short γ -ray bursts and fast radio bursts.

The mystery of dark energy suggests that there is new gravitational physics on long length scales. Yet light degrees of freedom in gravity are strictly limited by Solar System observations. We can resolve this apparent contradiction by adding a Galilean-invariant scalar field to gravity. Called Galileons, these scalars have strong self-interactions near overdensities, like the Solar System, that suppress their dynamical effect. These nonlinearities are weak on cosmological scales, permitting new physics to operate. In this Letter, we point out that a massive-gravity-inspired coupling of Galileons to stress energy can enhance gravitationallensing. Because the enhancement appears at a fixed scaled location for dark matter halos of a wide range of masses, stacked cluster analysis of weak lensing data should be able to detect or constrain this effect.

Chandra observations of M87 in 2004 uncovered an outburst originating in distant knot along the jet hundreds of parsecs from the core. This discovery challenges our understanding of the origin of high energy flares. Current technology is inadequate to resolve jets at distances greater than M87, or observed at higher energies. We propose to use gravitationallylensed jets to investigate the structure of more distant sources. Photons emitted at different sites cross the lens plane at different distances, thus magnification ratios and time delays differ between the mirage images. Monitoring of flares from lensed jets reveals the origin of the emission. With detectors like Chandra, lensed systems are a tool for resolving the structure of the jets and for investigating their cosmic evolution.

Gravitationallensing due to mass condensations in a biased cold dark matter (CDM) universe is investigated using the Press-Schechter (1974) theory with density fluctuation amplitudes taken from previous N-body work. Under the critical assumption that CDM haloes have small core radii, a distribution of image angular separations for high-z lensed quasars with a peak at about 1 arcsec and a half-width of a factor of about 10. Allowing for selection effects at small angular separations, this is in good agreement with the observed separations. The estimated frequency of lensing is somewhat lower than that observed, but the discrepancy can be removed by invoking amplification bias and by making a small upward adjustment to the density fluctuation amplitudes assumed in the CDM model.

We develop a method for calculating the correlation structure of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) using Feynman diagrams, when the CMB has been modified by gravitationallensing, Faraday rotation, patchy reionization, or other distorting effects. This method is used to calculate the bias of the Hu-Okamoto quadratic estimator in reconstructing the lensing power spectrum up to O (φ{sup 4}) in the lensing potential φ. We consider both the diagonal noise TT TT, EB EB, etc. and, for the first time, the off-diagonal noise TT TE, TB EB, etc. The previously noted large O (φ{sup 4}) term in the second order noise is identified to come from a particular class of diagrams. It can be significantly reduced by a reorganization of the φ expansion. These improved estimators have almost no bias for the off-diagonal case involving only one B component of the CMB, such as EE EB.

In this paper we investigate the strong gravitationallensing in a five dimensional background with Gauss-Bonnet gravity, so that in 4-dimensions the Gauss-Bonnet correction disappears. By considering the logarithmic term for deflection angle, we obtain the deflection angle α-circumflex and corresponding parameters ā and b-bar . Finally, we estimate some properties of relativistic images such as θ{sub ∞}, s and r{sub m}.

Calculation of 28,000 models of gravitationallensing of a distant quasar by an ensemble of randomly placed galaxies, each having a singular isothermal mass distribuiton, is reported. The average surface mass density was 0.2 of the critical value in all models. It is found that the surface mass density averaged over the area of the smallest circle that encompasses the multiple images is 0.82, only slightly smaller than expected from a simple analytical model of Turner et al. (1984). The probability of getting multiple images is also as large as expected analytically. Gravitationallensing is dominated by the matter in the beam; i.e., by the beam convergence. The cases where the multiple imaging is due to asymmetry in mass distribution (i.e., due to shear) are very rare. Therefore, the observed gravitational-lens candidates for which no lensing object has been detected between the images cannot be a result of asymmetric mass distribution outside the images, at least in a model with randomly distributed galaxies. A surprisingly large number of large separations between the multiple images is found: up to 25 percent of multiple images have their angular separation 2 to 4 times larger than expected in a simple analytical model.

Weak gravitationallensing, the distortion of images of distant galaxies due to gravitational deflection of light by more nearby masses, is a powerful tool that can address a wide variety of problems in astrophysics and cosmology. Observation of weak lensing requires large amounts of data since it can only be measured as an average over millions of galaxy shapes. This thesis focuses on lensing-related science that can be addressed using data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), an excellent source of high-quality data. First, we discuss technical issues related to observing lensing in the data, with a description of our Reglens pipeline and constraints on systematic errors in current data. This is followed by a comparison of an analytical model known as the halo model (which can be used to relate the observed lensing signal to properties of the lens galaxies) against the lensing signal in N-body simulations. After these preliminaries, we address several very different science questions using our reductions of the SDSS data. The first is the question of intrinsic alignments of galaxies (alignments of galaxies on the sky due to local structure), which may be a contaminant for future lensing surveys that seek to determine the cosmological model to high precision. Second, we use a halo model analysis of the lensing signal to determine the relationship between galaxy luminosity, stellar mass, and halo mass, and to measure satellite fractions, all of which can help distinguish between models of galaxy formation. The third application we consider is methodology for the detection of dark matter halo ellipticity, including a first attempt at detecting it with SDSS lensing data, these results may be used to distinguish between cosmological models and learn more about galaxy intrinsic alignments. Finally, we measure the matter distributions around Luminous Red Galaxies (LRGs), which not only teaches us about the properties of these galaxies, but also gives us information

Measurements of the surface density of radio sources resulting from a deep VLA integration at 5 GHz and the MIT-Green Bank (MG) II 5 GHz survey are summarized. The faint source counts are combined with previous observations and fitted to a power-law function of surface density vs. limiting flux density. The surface density of radio sources brighter than 1 mJy is k = 0.019 + or - 0.004/arcmin. The power-law exponent is best fit by -0.93 + or - 0.14. Between 15 and 100 mJy, the surface density of radio sources varies nearly as predicted by Euclidian models of the universe. Estimates are given for the number of chance alignments of radio sources in the VLA snapshot observations of the MIT-Princeton-Caltech gravitational lens search. The probability of lens candidate configurations occurring by chance alignment is calculated. 28 refs.

Spectroscopic selection has been the most productive technique for the selection of galaxy-scale strong gravitational lens systems with known redshifts. Statistically significant samples of strong lenses provide a powerful method for measuring the mass-density parameters of the lensing population, but results can only be generalized to the parent population if the lensing selection biases are sufficiently understood. We perform controlled Monte Carlo simulations of spectroscopic lens surveys in order to quantify the bias of lenses relative to parent galaxies in velocity dispersion, mass axis ratio, and mass-density profile. For parameters typical of the SLACS and BELLS surveys, we find (1) no significant mass axis ratio detection bias of lenses relative to parent galaxies; (2) a very small detection bias toward shallow mass-density profiles, which is likely negligible compared to other sources of uncertainty in this parameter; (3) a detection bias toward smaller Einstein radius for systems drawn from parent populations with group- and cluster-scale lensing masses; and (4) a lens-modeling bias toward larger velocity dispersions for systems drawn from parent samples with sub-arcsecond mean Einstein radii. This last finding indicates that the incorporation of velocity-dispersion upper limits of non-lenses is an important ingredient for unbiased analyses of spectroscopically selected lens samples. In general, we find that the completeness of spectroscopic lens surveys in the plane of Einstein radius and mass-density profile power-law index is quite uniform, up to a sharp drop in the region of large Einstein radius and steep mass-density profile, and hence that such surveys are ideally suited to the study of massive field galaxies.

Gravitational wave (GW) experiments are entering their advanced stage which should soon open a new observational window on the Universe. Looking into this future, the Einstein Telescope (ET) was designed to have a fantastic sensitivity improving significantly over the advanced GW detectors. One of the most important astrophysical GW sources supposed to be detected by the ET in large numbers are double compact objects (DCO) and some of such events should be gravitationallylensed by intervening galaxies. We explore the prospects of observing gravitationallylensed inspiral DCO events in the ET. This analysis is a significant extension of our previous paper [1]. We are using the intrinsic merger rates of the whole class of DCO (NS-NS,BH-NS,BH-BH) located at different redshifts as calculated by [2] by using StarTrack population synthesis evolutionary code. We discuss in details predictions from each evolutionary scenario. Our general conclusion is that ET would register about 50–100 strongly lensed inspiral events per year. Only the scenario in which nascent BHs receive strong kick gives the predictions of a few events per year. Such lensed events would be dominated by the BH-BH merging binary systems. Our results suggest that during a few years of successful operation ET will provide a considerable catalog of strongly lensed events.

Gravitationallensing statistics can provide a direct and powerful test of cosmic structure formation theories. Since lensing tests, directly, the magnitude of the nonlinear mass density fluctuations on lines of sight to distant objects, no issues of 'bias' (of mass fluctuations with respect to galaxy density fluctuations) exist here, although lensing observations provide their own ambiguities of interpretation. We develop numerical techniques for generating model density distributions with the very large spatial dynamic range required by lensing considerations and for identifying regions of the simulations capable of multiple image lensing in a conservative and computationally efficient way that should be accurate for splittings significantly larger than 3 seconds. Applying these techniques to existing standard Cold dark matter (CDM) (Omega = 1) and Primeval Baryon Isocurvature (PBI) (Omega = 0.2) simulations (normalized to the Cosmic Background Explorer Satellite (COBE) amplitude), we find that the CDM model predicts large splitting (greater than 8 seconds) lensing events roughly an order-of-magnitude more frequently than the PBI model. Under the reasonable but idealized assumption that lensing structrues can be modeled as singular isothermal spheres (SIS), the predictions can be directly compared to observations of lensing events in quasar samples. Several large splitting (Delta Theta is greater than 8 seconds) cases are predicted in the standard CDM model (the exact number being dependent on the treatment of amplification bias), whereas none is observed. In a formal sense, the comparison excludes the CDM model at high confidence (essentially for the same reason that CDM predicts excessive small-scale cosmic velocity dispersions.) A very rough assessment of low-density but flat CDM model (Omega = 0.3, Lambda/3H(sup 2 sub 0) = 0.7) indicates a far lower and probably acceptable level of lensing. The PBI model is consistent with, but not strongly tested by, the

In this paper we study how to create a radio bridge between the Sun and any other star made up by both the gravitationallenses of the Sun and that star. The alignment for this radio bridge to work is very strict, but the power-saving is enormous, due to the huge contributions of the two stars' lenses to the overall antenna gain of the system. In particular, we study in detail: The Sun-Alpha Centauri A radio bridge. The Sun-Barnard's star radio bridge. The Sun-Sirius A radio bridge. The radio bridge between the Sun and any Sun-like star located in the Galactic Bulge. The radio bridge between the Sun and a similar Sun-like star located inside the Andromeda galaxy (M31). Finally, we find the information channel capacity for each of the above radio bridges, putting thus a physical constraint to the maximum information transfer that will be enabled even by exploiting the stars as gravitationallenses. The conclusion is that a Galactic Internet is indeed physically possible. May be the Galactic Internet already is in existence, and was created long ago by civilizations more advanced than ours. But the potential for creating such a system has only recently been realized by Humans.

A well-studied maximal gravitational point lens construction of S. H. Rhie produces images of a light source using deflector masses. The construction arises from a circular, symmetric deflector configuration on masses (producing only images) by adding a tiny mass in the center of the other mass positions (and reducing all the other masses a little bit). In a recent paper we studied this "image creating effect" from a purely mathematical point of view (Sète, Luce & Liesen, Comput. Methods Funct. Theory 15(1), 2014). Here we discuss a few consequences of our findings for gravitational microlensing models. We present a complete characterization of the effect of adding small masses to these point lens models, with respect to the number of images. In particular, we give several examples of maximal lensing models that are different from Rhie's construction and that do not share its highly symmetric appearance. We give generally applicable conditions that allow the construction of maximal point lenses on masses from maximal lenses on masses.

Aims: The self-accelerating braneworld model (DGP) appears to provide a simple alternative to the standard ΛCDM cosmology to explain the current cosmic acceleration, which is strongly indicated by measurements of type Ia supernovae, as well as other concordant observations. Methods: We investigate observational constraints on this scenario provided by gravitational-lensing statistics using the Cosmic Lens All-Sky Survey (CLASS) lensing sample. Results: We show that a substantial part of the parameter space of the DGP model agrees well with that of radio source gravitationallensing sample. Conclusions: In the flat case, Ω_K=0, the likelihood is maximized, L=L_max, for ΩM = 0.30-0.11+0.19. If we relax the prior on Ω_K, the likelihood peaks at Ω_M,Ωr_c ≃ 0.29, 0.12, slightly in the region of open models. The confidence contours are, however, elongated such that we are unable to discard any of the close, flat or open models.

We examine the prospect of using the observed abundance of weak gravitationallenses to constrain the equation-of-state parameter w=p/ρ of dark energy. Dark energy modifies the distance-redshift relation, the amplitude of the matter power spectrum, and the rate of structure growth. As a result, it affects the efficiency with which dark-matter concentrations produce detectable weak-lensing signals. Here we solve the spherical-collapse model with dark energy, clarifying some ambiguities found in the literature. We also provide fitting formulae for the non-linear overdensity at virialization and the linear-theory overdensity at collapse. We then compute the variation in the predicted weak-lens abundance with w. We find that the predicted redshift distribution and number count of weak lenses are highly degenerate in w and the present matter density Ω0. If we fix Ω0 the number count of weak lenses for w=-2/3 is a factor of ~2 smaller than for the Λ cold dark matter (CDM) model w=-1. However, if we allow Ω0 to vary with w such that the amplitude of the matter power spectrum as measured by the Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) matches that obtained from the X-ray cluster abundance, the decrease in the predicted lens abundance is less than 25 per cent for -1 <=w< -0.4. We show that a more promising method for constraining dark energy - one that is largely unaffected by the Ω0-w degeneracy as well as uncertainties in observational noise - is to compare the relative abundance of virialized X-ray lensing clusters with the abundance of non-virialized, X-ray underluminous, lensing haloes. For aperture sizes of ~15 arcmin, the predicted ratio of the non-virialized to virialized lenses is greater than 40 per cent and varies by ~20 per cent between w=-1 and -0.6. Overall, we find that, if all other weak-lensing parameters are fixed, a survey must cover at least ~40 deg2 in order for the weak-lens number count to differentiate a ΛCDM cosmology from a dark-energy model with w

We present physical properties of two submillimeter selected gravitationallylensed sources, identified in the Herschel Astrophysical Terahertz Large Area Survey. These submillimeter galaxies (SMGs) have flux densities >100 mJy at 500 μm, but are not visible in existing optical imaging. We fit light profiles to each component of the lensing systems in Spitzer IRAC 3.6 and 4.5 μm data and successfully disentangle the foreground lens from the background source in each case, providing important constraints on the spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of the background SMG at rest-frame optical-near-infrared wavelengths. The SED fits show that these two SMGs have high dust obscuration with A V ~ 4-5 and star formation rates of ~100 M sun yr-1. They have low gas fractions and low dynamical masses compared with 850 μm selected galaxies.

We present physical properties of two submillimeter selected gravitationallylensed sources, identified in the Herschel Astrophysical Terahertz Large Area Survey. These submillimeter galaxies (SMGs) have flux densities >100 mJy at 500 {mu}m, but are not visible in existing optical imaging. We fit light profiles to each component of the lensing systems in Spitzer IRAC 3.6 and 4.5 {mu}m data and successfully disentangle the foreground lens from the background source in each case, providing important constraints on the spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of the background SMG at rest-frame optical-near-infrared wavelengths. The SED fits show that these two SMGs have high dust obscuration with A{sub V} {approx} 4-5 and star formation rates of {approx}100 M{sub sun} yr{sup -1}. They have low gas fractions and low dynamical masses compared with 850 {mu}m selected galaxies.

We report observations of three gravitationallylensed supernovae (SNe) in the Cluster Lensing And Supernova survey with Hubble (CLASH) Multi-Cycle Treasury program. These objects, SN CLO12Car (z = 1.28), SN CLN12Did (z = 0.85), and SN CLA11Tib (z = 1.14), are located behind three different clusters, MACSJ1720.2+3536 (z = 0.391), RXJ1532.9+3021 (z = 0.345), and A383 (z = 0.187), respectively. Each SN was detected in Hubble Space Telescope optical and infrared images. Based on photometric classification, we find that SNe CLO12Car and CLN12Did are likely to be Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia), while the classification of SN CLA11Tib is inconclusive. Using multi-color light-curve fits to determine a standardized SN Ia luminosity distance, we infer that SN CLO12Car was approx. 1.0 +/- 0.2 mag brighter than field SNe Ia at a similar redshift and ascribe this to gravitational lens magnification. Similarly, SN CLN12Did is approx. 0.2 +/- 0.2 mag brighter than field SNe Ia. We derive independent estimates of the predicted magnification from CLASH strong+weak-lensing maps of the clusters (in magnitude units, 2.5 log10 µ): 0.83 +/- 0.16 mag for SN CLO12Car, 0.28 +/- 0.08 mag for SN CLN12Did, and 0.43 +/- 0.11 mag for SN CLA11Tib. The two SNe Ia provide a new test of the cluster lens model predictions: we find that the magnifications based on the SN Ia brightness and those predicted by the lens maps are consistent. Our results herald the promise of future observations of samples of cluster-lensed SNe Ia (from the ground or space) to help illuminate the dark-matter distribution in clusters of galaxies, through the direct determination of absolute magnifications.

Recent observations indicate that many, if not all, galaxies host massive central black holes (BHs). In this paper, we explore the influence of supermassive binary black holes (SMBBHs) on their actions as gravitationallenses. When lenses are modelled as singular isothermal ellipsoids, binary BHs change the critical curves and caustics differently as a function of distance. Each BH can in principle create at least one additional image, which, if observed, provides evidence of BHs. By studying how SMBBHs affect the cumulative distribution of magnification for images created by BHs, we find that the cross-section for at least one such additional image to have a magnification larger than 10-5 is comparable to the cross-section for producing multiple images in singular isothermal lenses. Such additional images may be detectable with high-resolution and large dynamic range maps of multiply imaged systems from future facilities, such as the Square Kilometre Array. The probability of detecting at least one image (two images) with magnification above 10-3 is ˜0.2fBH (˜0.05fBH) in a multiply imaged lens system, where fBH is the fraction of galaxies housing binary BHs. We also study the effects of SMBBHs on the core images when galaxies have shallower central density profiles (modelled as non-singular isothermal ellipsoids). We find that the cross-section of the usually faint core images is further suppressed by SMBBHs. Thus, their presence should also be taken into account when one constrains the core radius from the lack of central images in gravitationallenses.

I investigate microlensing in gravitationallylensed quasars and discuss the use of its signal to probe quasar structure on small angular scales. I describe our lensed quasar optical monitoring program and RETROCAM, the optical camera I built for the 2.4m Hiltner telescope to monitor lensed quasars. I use the microlensing variability observed in 11 gravitationallylensed quasars to show that the accretion disk size at 2500Å is related to the black hole mass by log(R2500/cm) = (15.70±0.16) + (0.64±0.18)log(MBH/109M⊙). This scaling is consistent with the expectation from thin disk theory (R ∝ MBH2/3), but it implies that black holes radiate with relatively low efficiency, log(η) = -1.54±0.36 + log(L/LE) where η=L/(Mdotc2). With one exception, these sizes are larger by a factor of 4 than the size needed to produce the observed 0.8µm quasar flux by thermal radiation from a thin disk with the same T ∝ R-3/4 temperature profile. More sophisticated disk models are clearly required, particularly as our continuing observations improve the precision of the measurements and yield estimates of the scaling with wavelength and accretion rate. This research made extensive use of a Beowulf computer cluster obtained through the Cluster Ohio program of the Ohio Supercomputer Center. Support for program HST-GO-9744 was provided by NASA through a grant from the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under NASA contract NAS-5-26666.

Strongly gravitationallylensed quasar-galaxy systems allow us to compare competing cosmologies as long as one can be reasonably sure of the mass distribution within the intervening lens. In this paper, we assemble a catalog of 69 such systems from the Sloan Lens ACS and Lens Structure and Dynamics surveys suitable for this analysis, and carry out a one-on-one comparison between the standard model, ΛCDM, and the R{sub h}=ct universe, which has thus far been favored by the application of model selection tools to other kinds of data. We find that both models account for the lens observations quite well, though the precision of these measurements does not appear to be good enough to favor one model over the other. Part of the reason is the so-called bulge-halo conspiracy that, on average, results in a baryonic velocity dispersion within a fraction of the optical effective radius virtually identical to that expected for the whole luminous-dark matter distribution modeled as a singular isothermal ellipsoid, though with some scatter among individual sources. Future work can greatly improve the precision of these measurements by focusing on lensing systems with galaxies as close as possible to the background sources. Given the limitations of doing precision cosmological testing using the current sample, we also carry out Monte Carlo simulations based on the current lens measurements to estimate how large the source catalog would have to be in order to rule out either model at a ∼99.7% confidence level. We find that if the real cosmology is ΛCDM, a sample of ∼200 strong gravitationallenses would be sufficient to rule out R{sub h}=ct at this level of accuracy, while ∼300 strong gravitationallenses would be required to rule out ΛCDM if the real universe were instead R{sub h}=ct. The difference in required sample size reflects the greater number of free parameters available to fit the data with ΛCDM. We point out that, should the R{sub h}=ct universe eventually

Strongly gravitationallylensed quasar-galaxy systems allow us to compare competing cosmologies as long as one can be reasonably sure of the mass distribution within the intervening lens. In this paper, we assemble a catalog of 69 such systems from the Sloan Lens ACS and Lens Structure and Dynamics surveys suitable for this analysis, and carry out a one-on-one comparison between the standard model, ΛCDM, and the {{R}h}=ct universe, which has thus far been favored by the application of model selection tools to other kinds of data. We find that both models account for the lens observations quite well, though the precision of these measurements does not appear to be good enough to favor one model over the other. Part of the reason is the so-called bulge-halo conspiracy that, on average, results in a baryonic velocity dispersion within a fraction of the optical effective radius virtually identical to that expected for the whole luminous-dark matter distribution modeled as a singular isothermal ellipsoid, though with some scatter among individual sources. Future work can greatly improve the precision of these measurements by focusing on lensing systems with galaxies as close as possible to the background sources. Given the limitations of doing precision cosmological testing using the current sample, we also carry out Monte Carlo simulations based on the current lens measurements to estimate how large the source catalog would have to be in order to rule out either model at a ˜ 99.7% confidence level. We find that if the real cosmology is ΛCDM, a sample of ˜ 200 strong gravitationallenses would be sufficient to rule out {{R}h}=ct at this level of accuracy, while ˜ 300 strong gravitationallenses would be required to rule out ΛCDM if the real universe were instead {{R}h}=ct. The difference in required sample size reflects the greater number of free parameters available to fit the data with ΛCDM. We point out that, should the {{R}h}=ct universe eventually emerge as

A recent paper by Walters, Forbes and Jarvis presented new kinematic formulae for ray tracing in gravitationallensing models. The approach can generate caustic maps, but is computationally expensive. Here, a linearized approximation to that formulation is presented. Although still complicated, the linearized equations admit a remarkable closed-form solution. As a result, linearized approximations to the caustic patterns may be generated extremely rapidly, and are found to be in good agreement with the results of full non-linear computation. The usual Einstein-angle approximation is derived as a small angle approximation to the solution presented here.

We measure the cross-correlation between weak lensing of galaxy images and of the cosmic microwave background (CMB). The effects of gravitationallensing on different sources will be correlated if the lensing is caused by the same mass fluctuations. We use galaxy shape measurements from 139 deg2 of the Dark Energy Survey (DES) Science Verification data and overlapping CMB lensing from the South Pole Telescope (SPT) and Planck. The DES source galaxies have a median redshift of zmed ˜ 0.7, while the CMB lensing kernel is broad and peaks at z ˜ 2. The resulting cross-correlation is maximally sensitive to mass fluctuations at z ˜ 0.44. Assuming the Planck 2015 best-fitting cosmology, the amplitude of the DES×SPT cross-power is found to be ASPT = 0.88 ± 0.30 and that from DES×Planck to be APlanck = 0.86 ± 0.39, where A = 1 corresponds to the theoretical prediction. These are consistent with the expected signal and correspond to significances of 2.9σ and 2.2σ, respectively. We demonstrate that our results are robust to a number of important systematic effects including the shear measurement method, estimator choice, photo-z uncertainty and CMB lensing systematics. We calculate a value of A = 1.08 ± 0.36 for DES×SPT when we correct the observations with a simple intrinsic alignment model. With three measurements of this cross-correlation now existing in the literature, there is not yet reliable evidence for any deviation from the expected LCDM level of cross-correlation. We provide forecasts for the expected signal-to-noise ratio of the combination of the five-year DES survey and SPT-3G.

WE suggested in 1985 that a significant fraction of BL Lacertae objects, a kind of lineless quasar, seen in nearby galaxies are in fact images, gravitationallylensed and substantially amplified by stars in the nearby galaxy, of background objects, optically violent variable (OVV) quasars at redshifts z > 1 (ref. 1). This hypothesis was made on the basis of certain general similarities between BL Lacs and O Ws, but for two recently observed BL Lacs(2,3) a strong case can be made that the accompanying elliptical galaxy is a foreground object. In addition, we argue that the distribution of BL Lac redshifts is hard to understand without gravitationallensing, unless we happen to be at a very local maximum of the spatial cosmic distribution of BL Lacs. Our analysis also indicates that the galaxies whose stars are likely to act as microlenses will be found in two peaks, one nearby, with redshift 0.05-0.10, and the other near the distant quasar.

Water masers are found in dense molecular clouds closely associated with supermassive black holes at the centres of active galaxies. On the basis of the understanding of the local water-maser luminosity function, it was expected that masers at intermediate and high redshifts would be extremely rare. However, galaxies at redshifts z > 2 might be quite different from those found locally, not least because of more frequent mergers and interaction events. Here we use gravitationallensing to search for masers at higher redshifts than would otherwise be possible, and find a water maser at redshift 2.64 in the dust- and gas-rich, gravitationallylensed type-1 quasar MG J0414+0534 (refs 6-13). The isotropic luminosity is 10,000 (, solar luminosity), which is twice that of the most powerful local water maser and half that of the most distant maser previously known. Using the locally determined luminosity function, the probability of finding a maser this luminous associated with any single active galaxy is 10(-6). The fact that we see such a maser in the first galaxy we observe must mean that the volume densities and luminosities of masers are higher at redshift 2.64.

In this study we demonstrate that general relativity predicts arrival time differences between gravitational wave (GW) and electromagnetic (EM) signals caused by the wave effects in gravitationallensing. The GW signals can arrive earlier than the EM signals in some cases if the GW/EM signals have passed through a lens, even if both signals were emitted simultaneously by a source. GW wavelengths are much larger than EM wavelengths; therefore, the propagation of the GWs does not follow the laws of geometrical optics, including the Shapiro time delay, if the lens mass is less than approximately 105 M⊙(f/Hz)‑1, where f is the GW frequency. The arrival time difference can reach ∼0.1 s (f/Hz)‑1 if the signals have passed by a lens of mass ∼8000 M⊙(f/Hz)‑1 with the impact parameter smaller than the Einstein radius; therefore, it is more prominent for lower GW frequencies. For example, when a distant supermassive black hole binary (SMBHB) in a galactic center is lensed by an intervening galaxy, the time lag becomes of the order of 10 days. Future pulsar timing arrays including the Square Kilometre Array and X-ray detectors may detect several time lags by measuring the orbital phase differences between the GW/EM signals in the SMBHBs. Gravitationallensing imprints a characteristic modulation on a chirp waveform; therefore, we can deduce whether a measured arrival time lag arises from intrinsic source properties or gravitationallensing. Determination of arrival time differences would be extremely useful in multimessenger observations and tests of general relativity.

Strong field gravitationallensings are dramatically disparate from those in the weak field by representing relativistic images due to light winds one to infinity loops around a lens before escaping. We study such a lensing caused by a charged Galileon black hole, which is expected to have possibility to evade no-hair theorem. We calculate the angular separations and time delays between different relativistic images of the charged Galileon black hole. All these observables can potentially be used to discriminate a charged Galileon black hole from others. We estimate the magnitudes of these observables for the closest supermassive black hole Sgr A*. The strong field lensing observables of the charged Galileon black hole can be close to those of a tidal Reissner-Nordström black hole or those of a Reissner-Nordström black hole. It will be helpful to distinguish these black holes if we can separate the outermost relativistic images and determine their angular separation, brightness difference and time delay, although it requires techniques beyond the current limit.

A galaxy can act as a gravitational lens, producing multiple images of a background object. Theory predicts that there should be an odd number of images produced by the lens, but hitherto almost all lensed objects have two or four images. The missing 'central' images, which should be faint and appear near the centre of the lensing galaxy, have long been sought as probes of galactic cores too distant to resolve with ordinary observations. There are five candidates for central images, but in one case the third image is not necessarily the central one, and in the others the putative central images might be foreground sources. Here we report a secure identification of a central image, based on radio observations of one of the candidates. Lens models using the central image reveal that the massive black hole at the centre of the lensing galaxy has a mass of <2 x 10(8) solar masses (M(o)), and the galaxy's surface density at the location of the central image is > 20,000M(o) pc(-2), which is in agreement with expections based on observations of galaxies that are much closer to the Earth.

Probing the relative speeds of gravitational waves and light acts as an important test of general relativity and alternative theories of gravity. Measuring the arrival time of gravitational waves (GWs) and electromagnetic (EM) counterparts can be used to measure the relative speeds, but only if the intrinsic time lag between emission of the photons and gravitational waves is well understood. Here we suggest a method that does not make such an assumption, using future strongly lensed GW events and EM counterparts; Biesiada et al. [J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys.10 (2014) 080JCAPBP1475-751610.1088/1475-7516/2014/10/080] forecast that 50-100 strongly lensed GW events will be observed each year with the Einstein Telescope. A single strongly lensed GW event would produce robust constraints on c_{GW}/c_{γ} at the 10^{-7} level, if a high-energy EM counterpart is observed within the field of view of an observing γ-ray burst monitor.

Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) that are multiply imaged by gravitationallensing can extend the SN Ia Hubble diagram to very high redshifts (z ≳ 2), probe potential SN Ia evolution, and deliver high-precision constraints on H0, w, and Ωm via time delays. However, only one, iPTF16geu, has been found to date, and many more are needed to achieve these goals. To increase the multiply imaged SN Ia discovery rate, we present a simple algorithm for identifying gravitationallylensed SN Ia candidates in cadenced, wide-field optical imaging surveys. The technique is to look for supernovae that appear to be hosted by elliptical galaxies, but that have absolute magnitudes implied by the apparent hosts’ photometric redshifts that are far brighter than the absolute magnitudes of normal SNe Ia (the brightest type of supernovae found in elliptical galaxies). Importantly, this purely photometric method does not require the ability to resolve the lensed images for discovery. Active galactic nuclei, the primary sources of contamination that affect the method, can be controlled using catalog cross-matches and color cuts. Highly magnified core-collapse SNe will also be discovered as a byproduct of the method. Using a Monte Carlo simulation, we forecast that the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope can discover up to 500 multiply imaged SNe Ia using this technique in a 10 year z-band search, more than an order of magnitude improvement over previous estimates. We also predict that the Zwicky Transient Facility should find up to 10 multiply imaged SNe Ia using this technique in a 3 year R-band search—despite the fact that this survey will not resolve a single system.

Gravitational lens modeling of spatially resolved sources is a challenging inverse problem that can involve many observational constraints and model parameters. I present a new software package, pixsrc, that works in conjunction with the lensmodel software and builds on established pixel-based source reconstruction (PBSR) algorithms for de-lensing a source and constraining lens model parameters. Using test data, I explore statistical and systematic uncertainties associated with gridding, source regularization, interpolation errors, noise, and telescope pointing. I compare two gridding schemes in the source plane: a fully adaptive grid and an adaptive Cartesian grid. I also consider regularization schemes that minimize derivatives of the source and introduce a scheme that minimizes deviations from an analytic source profile. Careful choice of gridding and regularization can reduce "discreteness noise" in the chi2 surface that is inherent in the pixel-based methodology. With a gridded source, errors due to interpolation need to be taken into account (especially for high S/N data). Different realizations of noise and telescope pointing lead to slightly different values for lens model parameters, and the scatter between different "observations" can be comparable to or larger than the model uncertainties themselves. The same effects create scatter in the lensing magnification at the level of a few percent for a peak S/N of 10. I then apply pixsrc to observations of lensed, high-redshift galaxies. SDSS J0901+1814, is an ultraluminous infrared galaxy at z=2.26 that is also UV-bright, and it is lensed by a foreground group of galaxies at z=0.35. I constrain the lens model using maps of CO(3-2) rotational line emission and optical imaging and apply the lens model to observations of CO(1-0), H-alpha, and [NII] line emission as well. Using the de-lensed images, I calculate properties of the source, such as the gas mass fraction and dynamical mass. Finally, I examine a

We present a new estimation method for mapping the gravitationallensing potential from observed CMB intensity and polarization fields. Our method uses Bayesian techniques to estimate the average curvature of the potential over small local regions. These local curvatures are then used to construct an estimate of a low pass filter of the gravitational potential. By utilizing Bayesian/likelihood methods one can easily overcome problems with missing and/or nonuniform pixels and problems with partial sky observations (E- and B-mode mixing, for example). Moreover, our methods are local in nature, which allow us to easily model spatially varying beams, and are highly parallelizable. We note that our estimates do not rely on the typical Taylor approximation which is used to construct estimates of the gravitational potential by Fourier coupling. We present our methodology with a flat sky simulation under nearly ideal experimental conditions with a noise level of 1 {mu}K-arcmin for the temperature field, {radical}(2) {mu}K-arcmin for the polarization fields, with an instrumental beam full width at half maximum (FWHM) of 0.25 arcmin.

Strong gravitational lens systems with extended sources are of special interest because they provide additional constraints on the models of the lens systems. To use a gravitational lens system for measuring the Hubble constant, one would need to determine the lens potential and the source intensity distribution simultaneously. A linear inversion method to reconstruct a pixellated source distribution of a given lens potential model was introduced by Warren and Dye. In the inversion process, a regularization on the source intensity is often needed to ensure a successful inversion with a faithful resulting source. In this paper, we use Bayesian analysis to determine the optimal regularization constant (strength of regularization) of a given form of regularization and to objectively choose the optimal form of regularization given a selection of regularizations. We consider and compare quantitatively three different forms of regularization previously described in the literature for source inversions in gravitationallensing: zeroth-order, gradient and curvature. We use simulated data with the exact lens potential to demonstrate the method. We find that the preferred form of regularization depends on the nature of the source distribution.

We report the serendipitous discovery of two strong gravitational lens candidates (ACS J160919+6532 and ACS J160910+6532) in deep images obtained with the Advanced Camera for Surveys on the Hubble Space Telescope, each less than 40'' from the previously known gravitational lens system CLASS B1608+656. The redshifts of both lens galaxies have been measured with Keck and Gemini: one is a member of a small galaxy group at z {approx} 0.63, which also includes the lensing galaxy in the B1608+656 system, and the second is a member of a foreground group at z {approx} 0.43. By measuring the effective radii and surface brightnesses of the two lens galaxies, we infer their velocity dispersions based on the passively evolving Fundamental Plane (FP) relation. Elliptical isothermal lens mass models are able to explain their image configurations within the lens hypothesis, with a velocity dispersion compatible with that estimated from the FP for a reasonable source-redshift range. Based on the large number of massive early-type galaxies in the field and the number-density of faint blue galaxies, the presence of two additional lens systems around CLASS B1608+656 is not unlikely in hindsight. Gravitational lens galaxies are predominantly early-type galaxies, which are clustered, and the lensed quasar host galaxies are also clustered. Therefore, obtaining deep high-resolution images of the fields around known strong lens systems is an excellent method of enhancing the probability of finding additional strong gravitational lens systems.

The magnification effect that is due to gravitationallensing enhances the chances of detecting moderate-redshift (z ~ 1) sources in very high-energy (VHE; E > 100 GeV) γ-rays by ground-based atmospheric Cherenkov telescope facilities. It has been shown in previous work that this prospect is not hampered by potential γ-γ absorption effects by the intervening (lensing) galaxy, nor by any individual star within the intervening galaxy. In this paper, we expand this study to simulate the light-bending effect of a realistic ensemble of stars. We first demonstrate that for realistic parameters of the galaxy's star field, it is extremely unlikely (probability ≲10-6) that the direct line of sight between the γ-ray source and the observer passes by any star in the field close enough to be subject to significant γγ absorption. Our simulations then focus on the rare cases where γγ absorption by (at least) one individual star might be non-negligible. We show that gravitational light-bending will have the effect of avoiding the γ-γ absorption spheres around massive stars in the intervening galaxy. This confirms previous results and re-inforces arguments in favour of VHE γ-ray observations of lensed moderate-redshift blazars to extend the redshift range of objects detected in VHE γ-rays, and to probe the location of the γ-ray emission region in these blazars.

A new exact vacuum solution in five dimensions, which describes a magnetized cylindrical wormhole in 3+1 dimensions is presented. The magnetic field lines are stretched along the wormhole throat and are concentrated near to it. We study the motion of neutral and charged test particles under the influence of the magnetized wormhole. The effective potential for a neutral test particle around and across the magnetized wormhole has a repulsive character. The gravitationallensing for the magnetized wormhole for various lens parameters are calculated and compared. The total magnetic flux on either side of the wormhole is obtained. We present analytic expressions which show regions in which the null energy condition is violated.

Gravitationallensing is considered in the full spacetime formalism of general relativity, assuming that the light rays are lightlike geodesics in a Lorentzian manifold. The review consists of three parts. The first part is devoted to spherically symmetric and static spacetimes. In particular, an exact lens map for this situation is discussed. The second part is on axisymmetric and stationary spacetimes. It concentrates on the investigation of the photon region, i.e., the region filled by spherical lightlike geodesics, in the Kerr spacetime. The photon region is of crucial relevance for the formation of a shadow. Finally, the third part briefly addresses two topics that apply to spacetimes without symmetry, namely Fermat’s principle and the exact lens map of Frittelli and Newman.

The possibility of placing constraints on the mass distribution of a cluster of galaxies by analyzing the cluster's gravitationallensing effect on the images of more distant galaxies is investigated theoretically in the limit of weak distortion. The steps in the proposed analysis are examined in detail, and it is concluded that detectable distortion can be produced by clusters with line-of-sight velocity dispersions of over 500 km/sec. Hence it should be possible to determine (1) the cluster center position (with accuracy equal to the mean separation of the background galaxies), (2) the cluster-potential quadrupole moment (to within about 20 percent of the total potential if velocity dispersion is 1000 km/sec), and (3) the power law for the outer-cluster density profile (if enough background galaxies in the surrounding region are observed).

The correlation of galaxy ellipticities produced by gravitationallensing is calculated as a function of the power spectrum of density fluctuations in the universe by generalizing an analytical method developed by Gunn (1967). The method is applied to a model where identical objects with spherically symmetric density profiles are randomly laid down in space, and to the cold dark matter model. The possibility of detecting this correlation is discussed. Although an ellipticity correlation can also be caused by an intrinsic alignment of the axes of galaxies belonging to a cluster or a supercluster, a method is suggested by which one type of correlation can be distinguished from another. The advantage of this ellipticity correlation is that it is one of the few astronomical observations that can directly probe large-scale mass fluctuations in the universe.

We report the discovery of three new cases of quasi-stellar objects (QSOs) acting as strong gravitationallenses on background emission line galaxies: SDSS J0827+5224 (zQSO = 0.293, zs = 0.412), SDSS J0919+2720 (zQSO = 0.209, zs = 0.558), SDSS J1005+4016 (zQSO = 0.230, zs = 0.441). The selection was carried out using a sample of 22,298 SDSS spectra displaying at least four emission lines at a redshift beyond that of the foreground QSO. The lensing nature is confirmed from Keck imaging and spectroscopy, as well as from HST/WFC3 imaging in the F475W and F814W filters. Two of the QSOs have face-on spiral host galaxies and the third is a QSO+galaxy pair. The velocity dispersion of the host galaxies, inferred from simple lens modeling, is between σ = 210 and 285 km s-1, making these host galaxies comparable in mass with the SLACS sample of early-type strong lenses. Based on data obtained at the W. M. Keck Observatory, which is operated as a scientific partnership among the California Institute of Technology, the University of California and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The Observatory was made possible by the generous financial support of the W. M. Keck Foundation. Also based on observations made with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, obtained at the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under NASA contract NAS 5-26555. These observations are associated with program #GO12233.

The distance-redshift relation plays a fundamental role in constraining cosmological models. In this paper, we show that measurements of positions and time delays of strongly lensed images of a background galaxy, as well as those of the velocity dispersion and mass profile of a lens galaxy, can be combined to extract the angular diameter distance of the lens galaxy. Physically, as the velocity dispersion and the time delay give a gravitational potential (GM/r) and a mass (GM) of the lens, respectively, dividing them gives a physical size (r) of the lens. Comparing the physical size with the image positions of a lensed galaxy gives the angular diameter distance to the lens. A mismatch between the exact locations at which these measurements are made can be corrected by measuring a local slope of the mass profile. We expand on the original idea put forward by Paraficz and Hjorth, who analyzed singular isothermal lenses, by allowing for an arbitrary slope of a power-law spherical mass density profile, an external convergence, and an anisotropic velocity dispersion. We find that the effect of external convergence cancels out when dividing the time delays and velocity dispersion measurements. We derive a formula for the uncertainty in the angular diameter distance in terms of the uncertainties in the observables. As an application, we use two existing strong lens systems, B1608+656 (zL=0.6304) and RXJ1131-1231 (zL=0.295), to show that the uncertainty in the inferred angular diameter distances is dominated by that in the velocity dispersion, σ2, and its anisotropy. We find that the current data on these systems should yield about 16% uncertainty in DA per object. This improves to 13% when we measure σ2 at the so-called sweet-spot radius. Achieving 7% is possible if we can determine σ2 with 5% precision.

We describe SPACE WARPS, a novel gravitational lens discovery service that yields samples of high purity and completeness through crowdsourced visual inspection. Carefully produced colour composite images are displayed to volunteers via a web-based classification interface, which records their estimates of the positions of candidate lensed features. Images of simulated lenses, as well as real images which lack lenses, are inserted into the image stream at random intervals; this training set is used to give the volunteers instantaneous feedback on their performance, as well as to calibrate a model of the system that provides dynamical updates to the probability that a classified image contains a lens. Low-probability systems are retired from the site periodically, concentrating the sample towards a set of lens candidates. Having divided 160 deg2 of Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope Legacy Survey imaging into some 430 000 overlapping 82 by 82 arcsec tiles and displaying them on the site, we were joined by around 37 000 volunteers who contributed 11 million image classifications over the course of eight months. This stage 1 search reduced the sample to 3381 images containing candidates; these were then refined in stage 2 to yield a sample that we expect to be over 90 per cent complete and 30 per cent pure, based on our analysis of the volunteers performance on training images. We comment on the scalability of the SPACE WARPS system to the wide field survey era, based on our projection that searches of 105 images could be performed by a crowd of 105 volunteers in 6 d.

The distance-redshift relation plays a fundamental role in constraining cosmological models. In this paper, we show that measurements of positions and time delays of strongly lensed images of a background galaxy, as well as those of the velocity dispersion and mass profile of a lens galaxy, can be combined to extract the angular diameter distance of the lens galaxy. Physically, as the velocity dispersion and the time delay give a gravitational potential (GM/r) and a mass (GM) of the lens, respectively, dividing them gives a physical size (r) of the lens. Comparing the physical size with the image positions of a lensed galaxy gives the angular diameter distance to the lens. A mismatch between the exact locations at which these measurements are made can be corrected by measuring a local slope of the mass profile. We expand on the original idea put forward by Paraficz and Hjorth, who analyzed singular isothermal lenses, by allowing for an arbitrary slope of a power-law spherical mass density profile, an external convergence, and an anisotropic velocity dispersion. We find that the effect of external convergence cancels out when dividing the time delays and velocity dispersion measurements. We derive a formula for the uncertainty in the angular diameter distance in terms of the uncertainties in the observables. As an application, we use two existing strong lens systems, B1608+656 (z{sub L}=0.6304) and RXJ1131−1231 (z{sub L}=0.295), to show that the uncertainty in the inferred angular diameter distances is dominated by that in the velocity dispersion, σ{sup 2}, and its anisotropy. We find that the current data on these systems should yield about 16% uncertainty in D{sub A} per object. This improves to 13% when we measure σ{sup 2} at the so-called sweet-spot radius. Achieving 7% is possible if we can determine σ{sup 2} with 5% precision.

Under very general assumptions of the metric theory of spacetime, photons traveling along null geodesics and photon number conservation, two observable concepts of cosmic distance, i.e., the angular diameter and the luminosity distances are related to each other by the so-called distance duality relation (DDR) {D}L={D}A{(1+z)}2. Observational validation of this relation is quite important because any evidence of its violation could be a signal of new physics. In this paper we introduce a new method to test the DDR based on strong gravitationallensing systems and type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) under a flat universe. The method itself is worth attention because unlike previously proposed techniques, it does not depend on all other prior assumptions concerning the details of cosmological model. We tested it using a new compilation of strong lensing (SL) systems and JLA compilation of SNe Ia and found no evidence of DDR violation. For completeness, we also combined it with previous cluster data and showed its power on constraining the DDR. It could become a promising new probe in the future in light of forthcoming massive SL surveys and because of expected advances in galaxy cluster modeling.

We present a new sample of strong gravitational lens systems where both the foreground lenses and background sources are early-type galaxies. Using imaging from Hubble Space Telescope (HST)/Advanced Camera for Studies (ACS) and Keck/NIRC2, we model the surface brightness distributions and show that the sources form a distinct population of massive, compact galaxies at redshifts 0.4 ≲ z ≲ 0.7, lying systematically below the size-mass relation of the global elliptical galaxy population at those redshifts. These may therefore represent relics of high-redshift red nuggets or their partly evolved descendants. We exploit the magnifying effect of lensing to investigate the structural properties, stellar masses and stellar populations of these objects with a view to understanding their evolution. We model these objects parametrically and find that they generally require two Sérsic components to properly describe their light profiles, with one more spheroidal component alongside a more envelope-like component, which is slightly more extended though still compact. This is consistent with the hypothesis of the inside-out growth of these objects via minor mergers. We also find that the sources can be characterized by red-to-blue colour gradients as a function of radius which are stronger at low redshift - indicative of ongoing accretion - but that their environments generally appear consistent with that of the general elliptical galaxy population, contrary to recent suggestions that these objects are pre-dominantly associated with clusters.

Both massless light ray and objects with nonzero mass experience trajectory bending in a gravitational field. In this work the bending of trajectories of massive objects in a Schwarzschild spacetime and the corresponding gravitationallensing (GL) effects are studied. A particle sphere for Schwarzschild black hole (BH) is found with its radius a simple function of the particle velocity and proportional to the BH mass. A single master formula for both the massless and massive particle bending angle is found, in the form of an elliptic function depending only on the velocity and impact parameter. This bending angle is expanded in both large and small velocity limits and large and small impact parameter limits. The corresponding deflection angle for weak and strong GL of massive particles are analyzed, and their corrections to the light ray deflection angles are obtained. The dependence of the deflection angles on the source angle and the particle speed is investigated. Finally we discuss the potential applications of the results in hypervelocity star observations and in determining mass/mass hierarchy of slow particles/objects.

The massive black hole Sgr A* at the Galactic center is surrounded by a cluster of stars orbiting around it. Light from these stars is bent by the gravitational field of the black hole, giving rise to several phenomena: astrometric displacement of the primary image, the creation of a secondary image that may shift the centroid of Sgr A*, and magnification effects on both images. The soon-to-be second-generation Very Large Telescope Interferometer instrument GRAVITY will perform observations in the near-infrared of the Galactic center at unprecedented resolution, opening the possibility of observing such effects. Here we investigate the observability limits for GRAVITY of gravitationallensing effects on the S-stars in the parameter space 1[D LS, γ, K], where D LS is the distance between the lens and the source, γ is the alignment angle of the source, and K is the source's apparent magnitude in the K band. The easiest effect to observe in future years is the astrometric displacement of primary images. In particular, the shift of the star S17 from its Keplerian orbit will be detected as soon as GRAVITY becomes operative. For exceptional configurations, it will be possible to detect effects related to the spin of the black hole or post-Newtonian orders in the deflection.

The massive black hole Sgr A* at the Galactic center is surrounded by a cluster of stars orbiting around it. Light from these stars is bent by the gravitational field of the black hole, giving rise to several phenomena: astrometric displacement of the primary image, the creation of a secondary image that may shift the centroid of Sgr A*, and magnification effects on both images. The soon-to-be second-generation Very Large Telescope Interferometer instrument GRAVITY will perform observations in the near-infrared of the Galactic center at unprecedented resolution, opening the possibility of observing such effects. Here we investigate the observability limits for GRAVITY of gravitationallensing effects on the S-stars in the parameter space 1[D{sub LS}, {gamma}, K], where D{sub LS} is the distance between the lens and the source, {gamma} is the alignment angle of the source, and K is the source's apparent magnitude in the K band. The easiest effect to observe in future years is the astrometric displacement of primary images. In particular, the shift of the star S17 from its Keplerian orbit will be detected as soon as GRAVITY becomes operative. For exceptional configurations, it will be possible to detect effects related to the spin of the black hole or post-Newtonian orders in the deflection.

Gravitationallenses are rare in the known samples of quasars, indicating that the conditions involved in their formation are unusual. In particular, the distribution of matter along the light rays from the observer through the deflector to the quasar may be very different from mean conditions. It is shown that reasonable deviations in the density of matter along the beams can significantly alter the relationship between time delays and the Hubble constant, and it is concluded that gravitationallenses are not promising estimators of this constant. However, should an independent, precise determination of the Hubble constant become available, gravitationallenses could be used to probe long-range density fluctuations.

I review the development of gravitationallensing as a powerful tool of the observational cosmologist. After the historic eclipse expedition organized by Arthur Eddington and Frank Dyson, the subject lay observationally dormant for 60 years. However, subsequent progress has been astonishingly rapid, especially in the past decade, so that gravitationallensing now holds the key to unravelling the two most profound mysteries of our Universe—the nature and distribution of dark matter, and the origin of the puzzling cosmic acceleration first identified in the late 1990s. In this non-specialist review, I focus on the unusual history and achievements of gravitationallensing and its future observational prospects. PMID:20123743

I review the development of gravitationallensing as a powerful tool of the observational cosmologist. After the historic eclipse expedition organized by Arthur Eddington and Frank Dyson, the subject lay observationally dormant for 60 years. However, subsequent progress has been astonishingly rapid, especially in the past decade, so that gravitationallensing now holds the key to unravelling the two most profound mysteries of our Universe-the nature and distribution of dark matter, and the origin of the puzzling cosmic acceleration first identified in the late 1990s. In this non-specialist review, I focus on the unusual history and achievements of gravitationallensing and its future observational prospects.

I analyze microlensing in gravitationallylensed quasars to yield measurements of the structure of their continuum emission regions. I first describe our lensed quasar monitoring program and RETROCAM, the auxiliary port camera I built for the 2.4m Hiltner telescope to monitor lensed quasars. I describe the application of our Monte Carlo microlensing analysis technique to SDSS 0924+0219, a system with a highly anomalous optical flux ratio. For an inclination angle i, I find an optical scale radius log[( r s /cm)[Special characters omitted.] ] = [Special characters omitted.] . I extrapolate the best-fitting light curves into the future to find a roughly 45% probability that the anomalous image (D) will brighten by at least an order of magnitude during the next decade. I expand our method to make simultaneous estimates of the time delays and structure of HE1104-1805 and QJ0158-4325, two doubly-imaged quasars with microlensing and intrinsic variability on comparable time scales. For HE1104- 1805 I find a time delay of D t AB = t A - t B = [Special characters omitted.] days and estimate a scale radius of log[( r s /cm)[Special characters omitted.] ] = [Special characters omitted.] at 0.2mm in the rest frame. I am unable to measure a time delay for QJ0158-4325, but the scale radius is log[( r s /cm) [Special characters omitted.] ] = 14.9 ±1 0.3 at 0.3mm in the rest frame. I then apply our Monte Carlo microlensing analysis technique to the optical light curves of 11 lensed quasar systems to show that quasar accretion disk sizes at 2500Å are related to black hole mass ( M BH ) by log( R 2500 /cm) = (15.7 ± 0.16) + (0.64± 0.18) log( M BH /10 9 [Special characters omitted.] ). This scaling is consistent with the expectation from thin disk theory (R 0( [Special characters omitted.] ), but it implies that black holes radiate with relatively low efficiency, log(e) = -1.54 ± 0.36 + log( L/L E ) where e=3D L / ( M c 2 ). These sizes are also larger, by a factor of ~ 3, than

Aims: The observed brightness of type Ia supernovae is affected by gravitationallensing caused by the mass distribution along the line of sight, which introduces an additional dispersion into the Hubble diagram. We look for evidence of lensing in the SuperNova Legacy Survey 3-year data set. Methods: We investigate the correlation between the residuals from the Hubble diagram and the gravitational magnification based on a modeling of the mass distribution of foreground galaxies. A deep photometric catalog, photometric redshifts, and well established mass luminosity relations are used. Results: We find evidence of a lensing signal with a 2.3σ significance. The current result is limited by the number of SNe, their redshift distribution, and the other sources of scatter in the Hubble diagram. Separating the galaxy population into a red and a blue sample has a positive impact on the significance of the signal detection. On the other hand, increasing the depth of the galaxy catalog, the precision of photometric redshifts or reducing the scatter in the mass luminosity relations have little effect. We show that for the full SuperNova Legacy Survey sample (~400 spectroscopically confirmed type Ia SNe and ~200 photometrically identified type Ia SNe), there is an 80% probability of detecting the lensing signal with a 3σ significance. Based on observations obtained with MegaPrime/MegaCam, a joint project of CFHT and CEA/DAPNIA, at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT) which is operated by the National Research Council (NRC) of Canada, the Institut National des Sciences de l'Univers of the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) of France, and the University of Hawaii. This work is based in part on data products produced at the Canadian Astronomy Data Centre as part of the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope Legacy Survey, a collaborative project of NRC and CNRS. Based on observations obtained at the European Southern Observatory using the Very Large Telescope on

Using the Herschel Space Observatory, our team has been conducting a large survey of the fields of massive galaxy clusters, 'The Herschel Lensing Survey (HLS)' (PI: Egami; 419 hours). The main scientific goal is to penetrate the confusion limit of Herschel by taking advantage of the strong gravitationallensing power of these massive clusters and study the population of low-luminosity and/or high-redshift dusty star-forming galaxies that are beyond the reach of field Herschel surveys. In the course of this survey, we have obtained deep PACS (100/160 um) and SPIRE (250/350/500 um) images for 54 clusters (HLS-deep) as well as shallower (but nearly confusion-limited) SPIRE images for 527 clusters (HLS-snapshot). The goal of this proposal is to obtain shallow (500 sec/band) 3.6/4.5 um images of 266 cluster fields that have been observed by the HLS-snapshot survey but do not have any corresponding IRAC data. The HLS-snapshot SPIRE images are deep enough to detect a large number of sources in the target cluster fields, many of which are distant star-forming galaxies lensed by the foreground clusters, and the large sample size of HLS-snapshot promises a great potential for making exciting discoveries. Yet, these Herschel images would be of limited use if we could not identify the counterparts of the Herschel sources accurately and efficiently. The proposed IRAC snapshot program will greatly enhance the utility of these Herschel data, and will feed powerful gound observing facilities like ALMA and NOEMA with interesting targets to follow up.

Strong gravitationallenses have potential as very powerful probes of dark energy and cosmic structure. However, efficiently finding lenses poses a significant challenge—especially in the era of large-scale cosmological surveys. I will present a new application of deep machine learning algorithms to find strong lenses, as well as the strong lens discovery program of the Dark Energy Survey (DES).Strong lenses provide unique information about the evolution of distant galaxies, the nature of dark energy, and the shapes of dark matter haloes. Current and future surveys, like DES and the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope, present an opportunity to find many thousands of strong lenses, far more than have ever been discovered. By and large, searches have heretofore relied on the time-consuming effort of human scanners. Deep machine learning frameworks, like convolutional neural nets, have revolutionized the task of image recognition, and have a natural place in the processing of astronomical images, including the search for strong lenses.Over five observing seasons, which started in August 2013, DES will carry out a wide-field survey of 5000 square degrees of the Southern Galactic Cap. DES has identified nearly 200 strong lensing candidates in the first two seasons of data. We have performed spectroscopic follow-up on a subsample of these candidates at Gemini South, confirming over a dozen new strong lenses. I will present this DES discovery program, including searches and spectroscopic follow-up of galaxy-scale, cluster-scale and time-delay lensing systems.I will focus, however, on a discussion of the successful search for strong lenses using deep learning methods. In particular, we show that convolutional neural nets present a new set of tools for efficiently finding lenses, and accelerating advancements in strong lensing science.

Hubble Space Telescope (HST) data taken of the IRAS source FSC 10214+4724 suggest that the object has been gravitationallylensed by a galaxy in the foreground and that this lensing may be magnifying the apparent brightness by roughly 100 times.

We model the massive dark object at the center of the Galaxy as a Schwarzschild black hole as well as Janis-Newman-Winicour naked singularities, characterized by the mass and scalar charge parameters, and study gravitationallensing (particularly time delay, magnification centroid, and total magnification) by them. We find that the lensing features are qualitatively similar (though quantitatively different) for Schwarzschild black holes, weakly naked, and marginally strongly naked singularities. However, the lensing characteristics of strongly naked singularities are qualitatively very different from those due to Schwarzschild black holes. The images produced by Schwarzschild black hole lenses and weakly naked and marginally strongly naked singularity lenses always have positive time delays. On the other hand, strongly naked singularity lenses can give rise to images with positive, zero, or negative time delays. In particular, for a large angular source position the direct image (the outermost image on the same side as the source) due to strongly naked singularity lensing always has a negative time delay. We also found that the scalar field decreases the time delay and increases the total magnification of images; this result could have important implications for cosmology. As the Janis-Newman-Winicour metric also describes the exterior gravitational field of a scalar star, naked singularities as well as scalar star lenses, if these exist in nature, will serve as more efficient cosmic telescopes than regular gravitationallenses.

Exceptionally bright quasars with redshifts up to z = 6.28 have recently been discovered. Quasars are thought to be powered by the accretion of gas onto supermassive black holes at the centres of galaxies. Their maximum (Eddington) luminosity depends on the mass of the black hole, and the brighter quasars are inferred to have black holes with masses of more than a few billion solar masses. The existence of such massive black holes poses a challenge to models for the formation of structures in the early Universe, as it requires their formation within one billion years of the Big Bang. Here we show that up to one-third of known quasars with z approximately equal to 6 will have had their observed flux magnified by a factor of ten or more, as a consequence of gravitationallensing by galaxies along the line of sight. The inferred abundance of quasar host galaxies, as well as the luminosity density provided by the quasars, has therefore been substantially overestimated.

The unique, conical space-time created by cosmic strings brings about distinctive gravitationallensing phenomena. The variety of these distinctive phenomena is increased when the strings have nontrivial mutual interactions. In particular, when strings bind and create junctions, rather than intercommute, the resulting configurations can lead to novel gravitationallensing patterns. In this brief note, we use exact solutions to characterize these phenomena, the detection of which would be strong evidence for the existence of complex cosmic string networks of the kind predicted by string theory-motivated cosmic string models. We also correct some common errors in the lensing phenomenology of straight cosmic strings.

We have investigated the strong gravitationallensing for the photons coupled to Weyl tensor in a Schwarzschild black hole spacetime. We find that in the four-dimensional black hole spacetime the equation of motion of the photons depends not only on the coupling between photon and Weyl tensor, but also on the polarization direction of the photons. It is quite different from that in the case of the usual photon without coupling to Weyl tensor in which the equation of motion is independent of the polarization of the photon. Moreover, we find that the coupling and the polarization direction modify the properties of the photon sphere, the deflection angle, the coefficients in strong field lensing, and the observational gravitationallensing variables. Combining with the supermassive central object in our Galaxy, we estimated three observables in the strong gravitationallensing for the photons coupled to Weyl tensor.

Gravitationallensing is a powerful tool for the study of the distribution of dark matter in the Universe. The cold-dark-matter model of the formation of large-scale structures (that is, clusters of galaxies and even larger assemblies) predicts the existence of quasars gravitationallylensed by concentrations of dark matter so massive that the quasar images would be split by over 7 arcsec. Numerous searches for large-separation lensed quasars have, however, been unsuccessful. All of the roughly 70 lensed quasars known, including the first lensed quasar discovered, have smaller separations that can be explained in terms of galaxy-scale concentrations of baryonic matter. Although gravitationallylensed galaxies with large separations are known, quasars are more useful cosmological probes because of the simplicity of the resulting lens systems. Here we report the discovery of a lensed quasar, SDSS J1004 + 4112, which has a maximum separation between the components of 14.62 arcsec. Such a large separation means that the lensing object must be dominated by dark matter. Our results are fully consistent with theoretical expectations based on the cold-dark-matter model.

Observations of gravitationallenses in strong gravitational fields give us a clue to understanding dark compact objects. In this paper, we extend a method to obtain a deflection angle in a strong deflection limit provided by Bozza [Phys. Rev. D 66, 103001 (2002)] to apply to ultrastatic spacetimes. We also discuss on the order of an error term in the deflection angle. Using the improved method, we consider gravitationallensing by an Ellis wormhole, which is an ultrastatic wormhole of the Morris-Thorne class.

Using new photometric and spectroscopic data in the fields of nine strong gravitationallenses that lie in galaxy groups, we analyze the effects of both the local group environment and line-of-sight (LOS) galaxies on the lens potential. We use Monte Carlo simulations to derive the shear directly from measurements of the complex lens environment, providing the first detailed independent check of the shear obtained from lens modeling. We account for possible tidal stripping of the group galaxies by varying the fraction of total mass apportioned between the group dark matter halo and individual group galaxies. The environment produces an average shear of {gamma} = 0.08 (ranging from 0.02 to 0.17), significant enough to affect quantities derived from lens observables. However, the direction and magnitude of the shears do not match those obtained from lens modeling in three of the six four-image systems in our sample (B1422, RXJ1131, and WFI2033). The source of this disagreement is not clear, implying that the assumptions inherent in both the environment and lens model approaches must be reconsidered. If only the local group environment of the lens is included, the average shear is {gamma} = 0.05 (ranging from 0.01 to 0.14), indicating that LOS contributions to the lens potential are not negligible. We isolate the effects of various theoretical and observational uncertainties on our results. Of those uncertainties, the scatter in the Faber-Jackson relation and error in the group centroid position dominate. Future surveys of lens environments should prioritize spectroscopic sampling of both the local lens environment and objects along the LOS, particularly those bright (I< 21.5) galaxies projected within 5' of the lens.

Chang–Refsdal (C–R) lensing, which refers to the gravitationallensing of a point mass perturbed by a constant external shear, provides a good approximation in describing lensing behaviors of either a very wide or a very close binary lens. C–R lensing events, which are identified by short-term anomalies near the peak of high-magnification lensing light curves, are routinely detected from lensing surveys, but not much attention is paid to them. In this paper, we point out that C–R lensing events provide an important channel to detect planets in binaries, both in close and wide binary systems. Detecting planets through the C–R lensing event channel is possible because the planet-induced perturbation occurs in the same region of the C–R lensing-induced anomaly and thus the existence of the planet can be identified by the additional deviation in the central perturbation. By presenting the analysis of the actually observed C–R lensing event OGLE-2015-BLG-1319, we demonstrate that dense and high-precision coverage of a C–R lensing-induced perturbation can provide a strong constraint on the existence of a planet in a wide range of planet parameters. The sample of an increased number of microlensing planets in binary systems will provide important observational constraints in giving shape to the details of planet formation, which have been restricted to the case of single stars to date.

Spherically symmetric brane black holes have tidal charge which modifies both weak and strong lensing characteristics. Even if lensing measurements are in agreement with a Schwarzschild lens, the margin of error of the detecting instrument allows for a certain tidal charge only. In this paper we derive the respective constraint on the tidal charge of the supermassive black hole (SMBH) in the center of our galaxy, based on the radius of the first relativistic Einstein ring due to strong lensing. We find that even if general relativistic predictions are confirmed by high precision strong lensing measurements, SMBHs could have a much larger tidal charge than the Sun or neutron stars.

The Euclid space telescope will observe ∼10{sup 5} strong galaxy-galaxy gravitational lens events in its wide field imaging survey over around half the sky, but identifying the gravitationallenses from their observed morphologies requires solving the difficult problem of reliably separating the lensed sources from contaminant populations, such as tidal tails, as well as presenting challenges for spectroscopic follow-up redshift campaigns. Here I present alternative selection techniques for strong gravitationallenses in both Euclid and the Square Kilometre Array, exploiting the strong magnification bias present in the steep end of the Hα luminosity function and the H I mass function. Around 10{sup 3} strong lensing events are detectable with this method in the Euclid wide survey. While only ∼1% of the total haul of Euclid lenses, this sample has ∼100% reliability, known source redshifts, high signal-to-noise, and a magnification-based selection independent of assumptions of lens morphology. With the proposed Square Kilometre Array dark energy survey, the numbers of reliable strong gravitationallenses with source redshifts can reach 10{sup 5}.

For a general class of analytic f( R)-gravity theories, we discuss the weak field limit in view of gravitationallensing. Though an additional Yukawa term in the gravitational potential modifies dynamics with respect to the standard Newtonian limit of General Relativity, the motion of massless particles results unaffected thanks to suitable cancellations in the post-Newtonian limit. Thus, all the lensing observables are equal to the ones known from General Relativity. Since f( R)-gravity is claimed, among other things, to be a possible solution to overcome for the need of dark matter in virialized systems, we discuss the impact of our results on the dynamical and gravitationallensing analyses. In this framework, dynamics could, in principle, be able to reproduce the astrophysical observations without recurring to dark matter, but in the case of gravitationallensing we find that dark matter is an unavoidable ingredient. Another important implication is that gravitationallensing, in the post-Newtonian limit, is not able to constrain these extended theories, since their predictions do not differ from General Relativity.

This paper proposes to exploit gravitationallensing effects to improve the sensitivity of neutrino telescopes to the intrinsic neutrino emission of distant blazar populations. This strategy is illustrated with a search for cosmic neutrinos in the direction of four distant and gravitationallylensed Flat-Spectrum Radio Quasars. The magnification factor is estimated for each system assuming a singular isothermal profile for the lens. Based on data collected from 2007 to 2012 by the ANTARES neutrino telescope, the strongest constraint is obtained from the lensed quasar B0218+357, providing a limit on the total neutrino luminosity of this source of 1.08× 10{sup 46} erg s{sup -1}. This limit is about one order of magnitude lower than those previously obtained in the ANTARES standard point source searches with non-lensed Flat-Spectrum Radio Quasars.

Gravitationallensing epitomizes a maxim of Einstein's General Relativity: space tells energy how to move and energy tells space how to curve. Through lensing, massive objects magnify and distort the shapes of distant objects, likes galaxies and quasars. The connection between the lens's mass distribution and the degree of distortion in the images allows us to observe faint, distant objects, and to infer the matter distribution and cosmic expansion in the nearby universe. Current and future surveys, both ground- and space-based, will provide data sets unprecedented in size and precision with which to probe dark energy, dark matter and the early universe through gravitationallensing. I will discuss recent advances in observations and analysis techniques in both weak and strong lensing, and the burgeoning potential of these techniques to derive important and competitive cosmological constraints from surveys of large-scale structure.

A Recursive Swiss-Cheese (RSC) cosmological model is an exact solution to Einstein's general relativistic field equations allowing for dramatic local density inhomogeneities while maintaining global homogeneity and isotropy. It is constructed by replacing spherical regions of an FRW background with higher density cores placed at the centre of a Schwarzschild vacuum, with each core itself potentially being given the same treatment and the process repeated to generate a range of multifractal structures. Code was developed to tightly pack spheres into spaces of constant curvature in an efficient manner, and was used to develop libraries of packings with positive, negative, and zero curvature. Various projections are used to illustrate their structure, and means of measuring its dimensionality are discussed. A method by which these packings can be used as building blocks of an RSC model, along with a way of selecting parameters to define the model, is described, and a coordinate system allowing a relativistically consistent means of synchronizing its various components is developed. Formulations of the optical scalar equations for the expansion and shear rates of a beam are considered, and a set suitable for numerical integration selected. The forms of the null geodesic beam trajectories in each region of the model are computed, and a parallel propagated shadow plane basis that can be consistently followed between the various model sections is established. This allowed the development of code using a fourth order, variable step size Runge-Kutta integration routine to compute the gravitationallensing effect within an RSC model by tracking the amplification and distortion of a series of beams that are propagated through it. The output generated allows the redshift evolution of these quantities to be plotted for each beam, and enables maps to be made of the "observed sky". The amplification signature produced by a single lens in the model is examined, and the form shown

The gravitationallensing effect of a foreground galaxy cluster, on the number count statistics of background X-ray sources, was examined. The lensing produces a deficit in the number of resolved sources in a ring close to the critical radius of the cluster. The cluster lens can be used as a natural telescope to study the faint end of the (log N)-(log S) relation for the sources which account for the X-ray background.

We report the discovery of a new two-image gravitationallylensed quasar, SDSS J024634.11-082536.2 (SDSS J0246-0825). This object was selected as a lensed quasar candidate from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) by the same algorithm that was used to discover other SDSS lensed quasars (e.g., SDSS J0924+0219). Multicolor imaging with the Magellan Consortium's Walter Baade 6.5-m telescope and the spectroscopic observations using the W. M. Keck Observatory's Keck II telescope confirm that SDSS J0246-0825 consists of two lensed images ({Delta}{theta} = 1''.04) of a source quasar at z = 1.68. Imaging observations with the Keck telescope and the Hubble Space Telescope reveal an extended object between the two quasar components, which is likely to be a lensing galaxy of this system. From the absorption lines in the spectra of quasar components and the apparent magnitude of the galaxy, combined with the expected absolute magnitude from the Faber-Jackson relation, we estimate the redshift of the lensing galaxy to be z = 0.724. A highly distorted ring is visible in the Hubble Space Telescope images, which is likely to be the lensed host galaxy of the source quasar. Simple mass modeling predicts the possibility that there is a small (faint) lensing object near the primary lensing galaxy.

Context. The luminosity profiles of galaxies acting as strong gravitationallenses can be tricky to study. Indeed, strong gravitationallensing images display several lensed components, both point-like and diffuse, around the lensing galaxy. Those objects limit the study of the galaxy luminosity to its inner parts. Therefore, the usual fitting methods perform rather badly on such images. Previous studies of strong lenses luminosity profiles using software such as GALFIT or IMFITFITS and various PSF-determining methods have resulted in somewhat discrepant results. Aims: The present work aims at investigating the causes of those discrepancies, as well as at designing more robust techniques for studying the morphology of early-type lensing galaxies with the ability to subtract a lensed signal from their luminosity profiles. Methods: We design a new method to independently measure each shape parameter, namely, the position angle, ellipticity, and half-light radius of the galaxy. Our half-light radius measurement method is based on an innovative scheme for computing isophotes that is well suited to measuring the morphological properties of gravititational lensing galaxies. Its robustness regarding various specific aspects of gravitationallensing image processing is analysed and tested against GALFIT. It is then applied to a sample of systems from the CASTLES database. Results: Simulations show that, when restricted to small, inner parts of the lensing galaxy, the technique presented here is more trustworthy than GALFIT. It gives more robust results than GALFIT, which shows instabilities regarding the fitting region, the value of the Sérsic index, and the signal-to-noise ratio. It is therefore better suited than GALFIT for gravitationallensing galaxies. It is also able to study lensing galaxies that are not much larger than the PSF. New values for the half-light radius of the objects in our sample are presented and compared to previous works. Table 6 is only available

We report the discovery of a gravitationallylensed quasar identified serendipitously in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). The object, SDSS J094604.90+183541.8, was initially targeted for spectroscopy as a luminous red galaxy, but the SDSS spectrum has the features of both a z = 0.388 galaxy and a z = 4.8 quasar. We have obtained additional imaging that resolves the system into two quasar images separated by 3.''06 and a bright galaxy that is strongly blended with one of the quasar images. We confirm spectroscopically that the two quasar images represent a single-lensed source at z = 4.8 with a total magnification of 3.2, and we derive a model for the lensing galaxy. This is the highest redshift lensed quasar currently known. We examine the issues surrounding the selection of such an unusual object from existing data and briefly discuss implications for lensed quasar surveys.

Probability functions for gravitationallensing by point masses that incorporate Poisson statistics and flux conservation are formulated in the Dyer-Roeder construction. Optical depths to lensing for distant sources are calculated using both the method of Press and Gunn (1973) which counts lenses in an otherwise empty cone, and the method of Ehlers and Schneider (1986) which projects lensing cross sections onto the source sphere. These are then used as parameters of the probability density for lensing in the case of a critical (q0 = 1/2) Friedmann universe. A comparison of the probability functions indicates that the effects of angle-averaging can be well approximated by adjusting the average magnification along a random line of sight so as to conserve flux.

Four issues - (1) the best currently available data on the galaxy velocity-dispersion distribution, (2) the effects of finite core radii potential ellipticity on lensing cross sections, (3) the predicted distribution of lens image separations compared to observational angular resolutions, and (4) the preferential inclusion of lens systems in flux limited samples - are considered in order to facilitate more realistic predictions of multiple image galaxy-quasar lensing frequencies. It is found that (1) the SIS lensing parameter F equals 0.047 +/-0.019 with almost 90 percent contributed by E and S0 galaxies, (2) observed E and S0 core radii are remarkably small, yielding a factor of less than about 2 reduction in total lensing cross sections, (3) 50 percent of galaxy-quasar lenses have image separations greater than about 1.3 arcsec, and (4) amplification bias factors are large and must be carefully taken into account. It is concluded that flat universe models excessively dominated by the cosmological constant are not favored by the small observed galaxy-quasar lensing rate.

We investigate the potential of constraining the mass to light ratio of field galaxies using weak lensing shear and flexions. A suite of Monte Carlo simulations are used to generate weak lensing observations with different noise models. Using mock data, we find that the inclusion of flexions can improve the estimate of foreground halo parameters, but the details are strongly dependent on noise in the model. In the intrinsic noise limit, both shear and flexions are promising tools to study the mass to light ratio of galaxies. However, if the noise model of flexions follows the form described by Rowe et al., there is only ~5% improvement in the constraints even with next generation lensing observations.

We provide a detailed treatment and comparison of the weak lensing effects due to large scale structure (LSS), or scalar density perturbations and those due to gravitational waves (GWs) or tensor perturbations, on the temperature and polarization power spectra of the cosmic microwave background (CMB). We carry out the analysis both in real space by using the correlation function method, as well as in the spherical harmonic space. We find an intriguing similarity between the lensing kernels associated with LSS lensing and GW lensing. It is found that the lensing kernels only differ in relative negative signs and their form is very reminiscent of even and odd parity bipolar spherical harmonic coefficients. Through a numerical study of these lensing kernels, we establish that lensing due to GW is more efficient at distorting the CMB spectra as compared to LSS lensing, particularly for the polarization power spectra. Finally we argue that the CMB B-mode power spectra measurements can be used to place interesting constraints on GW energy densities.

Weak gravitationallensing changes the angular power spectra of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) temperature and polarization in a characteristic way containing valuable information for cosmological parameter estimation. So far, analytical expressions for the lensed CMB power spectra assume the probability density function (PDF) of the lensing excursion angle to be Gaussian. However, coherent light deflection by non-linear structures at low redshifts causes deviations from a pure Gaussian PDF. Working in the flat-sky limit, we develop a method for computing the lensed CMB power spectra which takes these non-Gaussian features into account. Our method does not assume any specific PDF but uses instead an expansion of the characteristic function of the lensing excursion angle into its moments. Measuring these in the CMB lensing deflection field obtained from the Millennium Simulation we show that the change in the lensed power spectra is only at the 0.1-0.4 per cent level on very small scales (Δθ≲ 4 arcmin, l≳ 2500) and demonstrate that the assumption of a Gaussian lensing excursion angle PDF is well applicable.

The Kilo-Degree Survey (KiDS) is a multi-band imaging survey designed for cosmological studies from weak lensing and photometric redshifts. It uses the European Southern Observatory VLT Survey Telescope with its wide-field camera OmegaCAM. KiDS images are taken in four filters similar to the Sloan Digital Sky Survey ugri bands. The best seeing time is reserved for deep r-band observations. The median 5σ limiting AB magnitude is 24.9 and the median seeing is below 0.7 arcsec. Initial KiDS observations have concentrated on the Galaxy and Mass Assembly (GAMA) regions near the celestial equator, where extensive, highly complete redshift catalogues are available. A total of 109 survey tiles, 1 square degree each, form the basis of the first set of lensing analyses of halo properties of GAMA galaxies. Nine galaxies per square arcminute enter the lensing analysis, for an effective inverse shear variance of 69 arcmin-2. Accounting for the shape measurement weight, the median redshift of the sources is 0.53. KiDS data processing follows two parallel tracks, one optimized for weak lensing measurement and one for accurate matched-aperture photometry (for photometric redshifts). This technical paper describes the lensing and photometric redshift measurements (including a detailed description of the Gaussian aperture and photometry pipeline), summarizes the data quality and presents extensive tests for systematic errors that might affect the lensing analyses. We also provide first demonstrations of the suitability of the data for cosmological measurements, and describe our blinding procedure for preventing confirmation bias in the scientific analyses. The KiDS catalogues presented in this paper are released to the community through http://kids.strw.leidenuniv.nl.

It has recently been suggested that gravitationallensing studies of gamma-ray blazars might be a promising avenue to probe the location of the gamma-ray emitting region in blazars. Motivated by these prospects, we have investigated potential gamma-gamma absorption signatures of intervening lenses in the very-high-energy gamma-ray emission from lensedblazars. We considered intervening galaxies and individual stars within these galaxies. We find that the collective radiation field of galaxies acting as sources of macrolensing are not expected to lead to significant gamma-gamma absorption. Individual stars within intervening galaxies could, in principle, cause a significant opacity to gamma-gamma absorption for VHE gamma-rays if the impact parameter (the distance of closest approach of the gamma-ray to the center of the star) is small enough. However, we find that the curvature of the photon path due to gravitationallensing will cause gamma-ray photons to maintain a sufficiently large distance from such stars to avoid significant gamma-gamma absorption. This re-inforces the prospect of gravitational-lensing studies of gamma-ray blazars without interference due to gamma-gamma absorption due to the lensing objects.

Measuring dark matter substructure within galaxy cluster halos is a fundamental probe of the {Lambda}CDM model of structure formation. Gravitationallensing is a technique for measuring the total mass distribution which is independent of the nature of the gravitating matter, making it a vital tool for studying these dark-matter-dominated objects. We present a new method for measuring weak gravitationallensing flexion fields, the gradients of the lensing shear field, to measure mass distributions on small angular scales. While previously published methods for measuring flexion focus on measuring derived properties of the lensed images, such as shapelet coefficients or surface brightness moments, our method instead fits a mass-sheet transformation invariant Analytic Image Model (AIM) to each galaxy image. This simple parametric model traces the distortion of lensed image isophotes and constrains the flexion fields. We test the AIM method using simulated data images with realistic noise and a variety of unlensed image properties, and show that it successfully reproduces the input flexion fields. We also apply the AIM method for flexion measurement to Hubble Space Telescope observations of A1689 and detect mass structure in the cluster using flexion measured with this method. We also estimate the scatter in the measured flexion fields due to the unlensed shape of the background galaxies and find values consistent with previous estimates.

We study two gravitationallensing models with Gaussian randomness: the continuous mass fluctuation model and the floating black hole model. The lens equations of these models are related to certain random harmonic functions. Using Rice's formula and Gaussian techniques, we obtain the expected numbers of zeros of these functions, which indicate the amounts of images in the corresponding lens systems.

Using the strong field limit approach, the strong field gravitationallensing in a black hole with deficit solid angle (DSA) and surrounded by quintessence-like matter (QM) has been investigated. The results show that the DSA ɛ2, the energy density of QM ρ0 and the equation of state (EOS) parameter w have some distinct effects on the strong field gravitationallensing. As ɛ2 or ρ0 increases, the deflection angle and the strong field limit coefficients all increase faster and faster. Moreover, the evolution of the main observables also has been studied, which shows that the curves at w = -2/3 are more steepy than those of w = -1/3. Compared with the Schwarzschild black hole, the black hole surrounded by QM has smaller relative magnitudes, and at w = -1/3 both the angular position and angular separation are slightly bigger than those of Schwarzschild black hole, but when w = -2/3, the angular position and the relative magnitudes all diminish significantly. Therefore, by studying the strong gravitationallensing, we can distinguish the black hole with a DSA and surrounded by QM from the Schwarzschild black hole and the effects of the DSA and QM on the strong gravitationallensing by black holes can be known better.

We present HST/FOS spectra of the two bright images (A and B) of the gravitationallylensed QSO 0957+561 in the wavelength range 2200-3300 A. We find that the absorption system (Z(sub abs)) = 1.3911) near z(sub em) is a weak, damped Ly alpha system with strong Ly alpha absorption lines seen in both images. However, the H(I) column densities are different, with the line of sight to image A intersecting a larger column density. The continuum shapes of the two spectra differ in the sense that the flux level of image A increases more slowly toward shorter wavelengths than that of image B. We explain this as the result of differential reddening by dust grains in the damped Ly alpha absorber. A direct outcome of this explanation is a determination of the dust-to-gas ratio, k, in the damped Ly alpha system. We derive k = 0.55 + 0.18 for a simple 1/lambda extinction law and k = 0.31 + 0.10 for the Galactic extinction curve. For gravitationallylensed systems with damped Ly alpha absorbers, our method is a powerful tool for determining the values and dispersion of k, and the shapes of extinction curves, especially in the FUV and EUV regions. We compare our results with previous work.

We use the statistics of strong gravitationallenses to investigate whether mass profiles with a flat density core are supported. The probability for lensing by halos modeled by a nonsingular truncated isothermal sphere (NTIS) with image separations greater than a certain value (ranging from 0" to 10") is calculated. NTIS is an analytical model for the postcollapse equilibrium structure of virialized objects derived by Shapiro, Iliev, & Raga. This profile has a soft core and matches quite well with the mass profiles of dark matter-dominated dwarf galaxies deduced from their observed rotation curves. It also agrees well with the NFW (Navarro-Frenk-White) profile at all radii outside of a few NTIS core radii. Unfortunately, comparing the results with those for singular lensing halos (NFW and SIS + NFW) and strong lensing observations, the probabilities for lensing by NTIS halos are far too low. As this result is valid for any other nonsingular density profile (with a large core radius), we conclude that nonsingular density profiles (with a large core radius) for CDM halos are ruled out by statistics of strong gravitationallenses.

The MOND paradigm of modified dynamics predicts that the asymptotic gravitational potential of an isolated, bounded (baryonic) mass, M, is ϕ(r)=(MGa0)1/2ln(r). Relativistic MOND theories predict that the lensing effects of M are dictated by ϕ(r) as general-relativity lensing is dictated by the Newtonian potential. Thus MOND predicts that the asymptotic Newtonian potential deduced from galaxy-galaxy gravitationallensing will have (1) a logarithmic r dependence, and (2) a normalization (parametrized standardly as 2σ2) that depends only on M: σ=(MGa0/4)1/4. I compare these predictions with recent results of galaxy-galaxy lensing, and find agreement on all counts. For the “blue”-lenses subsample (“spiral” galaxies) MOND reproduces the observations well with an r′-band M/Lr′∼(1–3)(M/L)⊙, and for “red” lenses (“elliptical” galaxies) with M/Lr′∼(3–6)(M/L)⊙, both consistent with baryons only. In contradistinction, Newtonian analysis requires, typically, M/Lr′∼130(M/L)⊙, bespeaking a mass discrepancy of a factor ∼40. Compared with the staple, rotation-curve tests, MOND is here tested in a wider population of galaxies, through a different phenomenon, using relativistic test objects, and is probed to several-times-lower accelerations–as low as a few percent of a0.

With a fantastic sensitivity improving significantly over the advanced GW detectors, Einstein Telescope (ET) will be able to observe hundreds of thousand inspiralling double compact objects per year. By virtue of gravitationallensing effect, intrinsically unobservable faint sources can be observed by ET due to the magnification by intervening galaxies. We explore the possibility of observing such faint sources amplified by strong gravitationallensing. Following our previous work, we use the merger rates of DCO (NS-NS,BH-NS,BH-BH systems) as calculated by Dominik et al.(2013). It turns out that tens to hundreds of such (lensed) extra events will be registered by ET. This will strongly broaden the ET's distance reach for signals from such coalescences to the redshift range z = 2 − 8. However, with respect to the full inspiral event catalog this magnification bias is at the level of 0.001 and should not affect much cosmological inferences.

The primary evidence for an accelerating Universe, currently, is found in the departure from the Hubble relation for distance vs redshift as measured in distant supernovae. These methods rely on knowing the intrinsic luminosities of ancient supernovae, and while there is no reason to doubt them it is clearly desirable to have alternate measurements of the distance-redshift relation which do not involve luminosities. Gravitationallensing of distant galaxies may afford such a measurement. Outlines for two possible approaches are described: (1) Strong lensing of CMB anisotropies in coincidence with strong lensing of a distant galaxy; (2) Statistical correlation of weak lensing signatures with redshift. Feasibility using current and future instruments are briefly discussed.

We discuss gravitationallensing in the Kehagias-Sfetsos space-time emerging in the framework of Horava-Lifshitz gravity. In weak lensing, we show that there are three regimes, depending on the value of {lambda}=1/{omega}d{sup 2}, where {omega} is the Horava-Lifshitz parameter and d characterizes the lensing geometry. When {lambda} is close to zero, light deflection typically produces two images, as in Schwarzschild lensing. For very large {lambda}, the space-time approaches flatness, therefore there is only one undeflected image. In the intermediate range of {lambda}, only the upper focused image is produced due to the existence of a maximal deflection angle {delta}{sub max}, a feature inexistent in the Schwarzschild weak lensing. We also discuss the location of Einstein rings, and determine the range of the Horava-Lifshitz parameter compatible with present-day lensing observations. Finally, we analyze in the strong lensing regime the first two relativistic Einstein rings and determine the constraints on the parameter range to be imposed by forthcoming experiments.

Recently Holz & Wheeler (2002) have considered a very attractive possibility to detect retro-MACHOs, i.e. retro-images of the Sun by a Schwarzschild black hole. We analyze the case of a Kerr black hole with an arbitrary spin for some selected positions of a distant observer with respect to the equatorial plane of a Kerr black hole. We discuss glories (mirages) formed near rapidly rotating Kerr black hole horizons and propose a procedure to measure masses and rotation parameters by analyzing these forms of mirages. In some sense, that is a manifestation of gravitational lens effect in the strong gravitational field near the black hole horizon and a generalization of the retro-gravitational lens phenomenon. We also propose to use future radio interferometer Radioastron facilities to measure shapes of mirages (glories) and to evaluate the black hole spin as a function of the position angle of a distant observer.

We present the discovery of ~20 gravitationallylensed X-ray sources in the Cluster Lensing And Supernova survey with Hubble (CLASH) survey, a sample of massive clusters of galaxies between z ~ 0.2-0.9 observed with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). By combining CLASH imaging with Chandra X-ray Observatory observations of the same clusters, we select those sources in the HST images which are gravitationallylensed X-ray sources behind the clusters. Of those discovered sources, we determine various properties including source redshifts and magnifications, as well as performing X-ray spectral fits to determine source fluxes and luminosities. Prior to this study, only four lensed X-ray sources behind clusters have been found, thus to the best of our knowledge, our program is the first to systematically categorize lensed X-ray sources behind galaxy clusters.This work was supported by the SAO REU program, which is funded in part by the National Science Foundation REU and Department of Defense ASSURE programs under NSF Grant no. 1262851, and by the Smithsonian Institution.

When a cosmic microwave background (CMB) photon travels from the surface of last scatter through spacetime metric perturbations, the polarization vector may rotate about its direction of propagation. This gravitational rotation is distinct from, and occurs in addition to, the lensing deflection of the photon trajectory. This rotation can be sourced by linear vector or tensor metric perturbations and is fully coherent with the curl deflection field. Therefore, lensing corrections to the CMB polarization power spectra as well as the temperature-polarization cross correlations due to nonscalar perturbations are modified. The rotation does not affect lensing by linear scalar perturbations, but needs to be included when calculations go to higher orders. We present complete results for weak lensing of the full-sky CMB power spectra by general linear metric perturbations, taking into account both deflection of the photon trajectory and rotation of the polarization. For the case of lensing by gravitational waves, we show that the B modes induced by the rotation largely cancel those induced by the curl component of deflection.

We present a coherent theoretical framework for computing gravitationallensing effects and redshift-space distortions in an inhomogeneous universe and investigate their impacts on galaxy two-point statistics. Adopting the linearized Friedmann-Lemaitre-Robertson-Walker metric, we derive the gravitationallensing and the generalized Sachs-Wolfe effects that include the weak lensing distortion, magnification, and time delay effects, and the redshift-space distortion, Sachs-Wolfe, and integrated Sachs-Wolfe effects, respectively. Based on this framework, we first compute their effects on observed source fluctuations, separating them as two physically distinct origins: the volume effect that involves the change of volume and is always present in galaxy two-point statistics, and the source effect that depends on the intrinsic properties of source populations. Then we identify several terms that are ignored in the standard method, and we compute the observed galaxy two-point statistics, an ensemble average of all the combinations of the intrinsic source fluctuations and the additional contributions from the gravitationallensing and the generalized Sachs-Wolfe effects. This unified treatment of galaxy two-point statistics clarifies the relation of the gravitationallensing and the generalized Sachs-Wolfe effects to the metric perturbations and the underlying matter fluctuations. For near-future dark energy surveys, we compute additional contributions to the observed galaxy two-point statistics and analyze their impact on the anisotropic structure. Thorough theoretical modeling of galaxy two-point statistics would be not only necessary to analyze precision measurements from upcoming dark energy surveys, but also provide further discriminatory power in understanding the underlying physical mechanisms.

In this paper, the hypothesis of the existence of a massive dark body (Nemesis, Tyche, Planet Nine, or any other trans-Plutonian planet) at the Solar system periphery is analysed. Basic physical properties and orbital characteristics of such massive bodies are considered. The problem of the definition of a scattering angle of a photon in the gravitational field of a spherical lens is studied. It is shown that, the required value of the scattering angle can be measured for the cases of Nemesis and Tyche. The formation of gravitationallensing images is studied here for a point mass event. It is demonstrated that in most cases of the close rapprochement of a source and the lens (for Nemesis and Tyche), it is possible to resolve two images. The possibility of resolving these images is one of the main arguments favouring the gravitationallensing method as its efficiency in searching for dark massive objects at the edge of the Solar System is higher than the one corresponding to other methods such as stellar occultation. For the cases of Planet Nine and any other trans-Plutonian planet, the strong gravitationallensing is impossible because at least one of the images is always eclipsed.

We report follow-up observations of two gravitational lens candidates identified in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) dataset. We have confirmed that SDSS J102111.02+491330.4 is a previously unknown gravitationallylensed quasar. This lens system exhibits two images of a z = 1.72 quasar, with an image separation of 1.14'' {+-} 0.04''. Optical and near-IR imaging of the system reveals the presence of the lensing galaxy between the two quasar images. Observations of SDSS J112012.12+671116.0 indicate that it is more likely a binary quasar than a gravitational lens. This system has two quasars at a redshift of z = 1.49, with an angular separation of 1.49'' {+-} 0.02''. However, the two quasars have markedly different SEDs and no lens galaxy is apparent in optical and near-IR images of this system. We also present a list of 31 SDSS lens candidates which follow-up observations have confirmed are not gravitationallenses.

We report follow-up observations of two gravitational lens candidates identified in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) dataset. We have confirmed that SDSS J102111.02+491330.4 is a previously unknown gravitationallylensed quasar. This lens system exhibits two images of a z = 1.72 quasar, with an image separation of 1''.14 {+-} 0.04. Optical and near-IR imaging of the system reveals the presence of the lensing galaxy between the two quasar images. Observations of SDSS J112012.12+671116.0 indicate that it is more likely a binary quasar than a gravitational lens. This system has two quasars at a redshift of z = 1.49, with an angular separation of 1''.49 {+-} 0.02. However, the two quasars have markedly different SEDs and no lens galaxy is apparent in optical and near-IR images of this system. We also present a list of 31 SDSS lens candidates which follow-up observations have confirmed are not gravitationallenses.

Future proposed satellite missions such as Euclid can offer the opportunity to test general relativity on cosmic scales through mapping of the galaxy weak-lensing signal. In this paper we forecast the ability of these experiments to constrain modified gravity scenarios such as those predicted by scalar-tensor and f(R) theories. We find that Euclid will improve constraints expected from the Planck satellite on these modified theories of gravity by 2 orders of magnitude. We discuss parameter degeneracies and the possible biases introduced by modifications to gravity.

Clusters of galaxies gravitationally lens the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) leading to a distinct signal in the CMB on arcminute scales. Measurement of the cluster lensing effect offers the exciting possibility of constraining the masses of galaxy clusters using CMB data alone. Improved constraints on cluster masses are in turn essential to the use of clusters as cosmological probes: uncertainties in cluster masses are currently the dominant systematic affecting cluster abundance constraints on cosmology. To date, however, the CMB cluster lensing signal remains undetected because of its small magnitude and angular size. In this thesis, we develop a maximum likelihood approach to extracting the signal from CMB temperature data. We validate the technique by applying it to mock data designed to replicate as closely as possible real data from the South Pole Telescope’s (SPT) Sunyaev-Zel’dovich (SZ) survey: the effects of the SPT beam, transfer function, instrumental noise and cluster selection are incorporated. We consider the effects of foreground emission on the analysis and show that uncertainty in amount of foreground lensing results in a small systematic error on the lensing constraints. Additionally, we show that if unaccounted for, the SZ effect leads to unacceptably large biases on the lensing constraints and develop an approach for removing SZ contamination. The results of the mock analysis presented here suggest that a 4σ first detection of the cluster lensing effect can be achieved with current SPT-SZ data.

Recently Holz & Wheeler [1] considered a very attracting possibility to detect retro-MACHOs, i.e. retro-images of the Sun by a Schwarzschild black hole. In this paper we discuss glories (mirages) formed near rapidly rotating Kerr black hole horizons and propose a procedure to measure masses and rotation parameters analyzing these forms of mirages (a detailed description of the problem is given in [2]). In some sense that is a manifestation of gravitational lens effect in the strong gravitational field near black hole horizon and a generalization of the retro-gravitational lens phenomenon. We analyze the case of a Kerr black hole rotating at arbitrary speed for some selected positions of a distant observer with respect to the equatorial plane of a Kerr black hole. Some time ago Falcke, Melia & Agol [3] suggested to search shadows at the Galactic Center. In this paper we present the boundaries for shadows calculated numerically. We also propose to use future radio interferometer RADIOASTRON facilities to measure shapes of mirages (glories) and to evaluate the black hole spin as a function of the position angle of a distant observer.

We argue that globular clusters (GCs) are good candidates for gravitationallenses in explaining quasar-galaxy associations. The catalog of associations (Bukhmastova, 2001, Cat. ) compiled from the LEDA catalog of galaxies (Paturel, 1997A&AS..124..109P) and from the catalog of quasars (Veron-Cetty and Vero, 1998, see Cat. ) is used. Based on the new catalog, we show that one might expect an increased number of GCs around irregular galaxies of types 9 and 10 from the hypothesis that distant compact sources are gravitationallylensed by GCs in the halos of foreground galaxies. The King model is used to determine the central surface densities of 135 GCs in the Milky Way. The distribution of GCs in central surface density was found to be lognormal. (4 data files).

Current efforts in observational cosmology are focused on characterizing the mass-energy content of the universe. We present results from a geometric test based on strong lensing in galaxy clusters. Based on Hubble Space Telescope images and extensive ground-based spectroscopic follow-up of the massive galaxy cluster Abell 1689, we used a parametric model to simultaneously constrain the cluster mass distribution and dark energy equation of state. Combining our cosmological constraints with those from x-ray clusters and the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe 5-year data gives Omega(m) = 0.25 +/- 0.05 and w(x) = -0.97 +/- 0.07, which are consistent with results from other methods. Inclusion of our method with all other available techniques brings down the current 2sigma contours on the dark energy equation-of-state parameter w(x) by approximately 30%.

The manifestations of gravitationallensing by a massive black hole at the Galactic center, with particular attention given to lensing of stars in the stellar cluster that lie behind Sgr A*, and of Sgr A east, a nonthermal extended radio source which is known with certainty to lie behind the Galactic center. Lensing of the stellar cluster produces a deficit of stellar images within 10 mas of the center, and a surplus between 30 and 300 mas. The results suggest that the proper motion of the stars will produce brightness variations of stellar images on a time scale of a few years or less. Both images of such a source should be visible, and will rise and fall in luminosity together.

We measure the cross-correlation between weak lensing of galaxy images and of the cosmic microwave background (CMB). The effects of gravitationallensing on different sources will be correlated if the lensing is caused by the same mass fluctuations. We use galaxy shape measurements from 139 deg$^{2}$ of the Dark Energy Survey (DES) Science Verification data and overlapping CMB lensing from the South Pole Telescope (SPT) and Planck. The DES source galaxies have a median redshift of $z_{\\rm med} {\\sim} 0.7$, while the CMB lensing kernel is broad and peaks at $z{\\sim}2$. The resulting cross-correlation is maximally sensitive to mass fluctuations at $z{\\sim}0.44$. Assuming the Planck 2015 best-fit cosmology, the amplitude of the DES$\\times$SPT cross-power is found to be $A = 0.88 \\pm 0.30$ and that from DES$\\times$Planck to be $A = 0.86 \\pm 0.39$, where $A=1$ corresponds to the theoretical prediction. These are consistent with the expected signal and correspond to significances of $2.9 \\sigma$ and $2.2 \\sigma$ respectively. We demonstrate that our results are robust to a number of important systematic effects including the shear measurement method, estimator choice, photometric redshift uncertainty and CMB lensing systematics. Significant intrinsic alignment of galaxy shapes would increase the cross-correlation signal inferred from the data; we calculate a value of $A = 1.08 \\pm 0.36$ for DES$\\times$SPT when we correct the observations with a simple IA model. With three measurements of this cross-correlation now existing in the literature, there is not yet reliable evidence for any deviation from the expected LCDM level of cross-correlation, given the size of the statistical uncertainties and the significant impact of systematic errors, particularly IAs. We provide forecasts for the expected signal-to-noise of the combination of the five-year DES survey and SPT-3G.

Verlinde proposed that the observed excess gravity in galaxies and clusters is the consequence of emergent gravity (EG). In this theory, the standard gravitational laws are modified on galactic and larger scales due to the displacement of dark energy by baryonic matter. EG gives an estimate of the excess gravity (described as an apparent dark matter density) in terms of the baryonic mass distribution and the Hubble parameter. In this work, we present the first test of EG using weak gravitationallensing, within the regime of validity of the current model. Although there is no direct description of lensing and cosmology in EG yet, we can make a reasonable estimate of the expected lensing signal of low-redshift galaxies by assuming a background Lambda cold dark matter cosmology. We measure the (apparent) average surface mass density profiles of 33 613 isolated central galaxies and compare them to those predicted by EG based on the galaxies' baryonic masses. To this end, we employ the ∼180 deg2 overlap of the Kilo-Degree Survey with the spectroscopic Galaxy And Mass Assembly survey. We find that the prediction from EG, despite requiring no free parameters, is in good agreement with the observed galaxy-galaxy lensing profiles in four different stellar mass bins. Although this performance is remarkable, this study is only a first step. Further advancements on both the theoretical framework and observational tests of EG are needed before it can be considered a fully developed and solidly tested theory.

We demonstrate highly accurate recovery of weak gravitationallensing shear using an implementation of the Bayesian Fourier Domain (BFD) method proposed by Bernstein & Armstrong, extended to correct for selection biases. The BFD formalism is rigorously correct for Nyquist-sampled, background-limited, uncrowded images of background galaxies. BFD does not assign shapes to galaxies, instead compressing the pixel data D into a vector of moments M, such that we have an analytic expression for the probability P(M|g) of obtaining the observations with gravitationallensing distortion g along the line of sight. We implement an algorithm for conducting BFD's integrations over the population of unlensed source galaxies which measures ≈10 galaxies s-1 core-1 with good scaling properties. Initial tests of this code on ≈109 simulated lensed galaxy images recover the simulated shear to a fractional accuracy of m = (2.1 ± 0.4) × 10-3, substantially more accurate than has been demonstrated previously for any generally applicable method. Deep sky exposures generate a sufficiently accurate approximation to the noiseless, unlensed galaxy population distribution assumed as input to BFD. Potential extensions of the method include simultaneous measurement of magnification and shear; multiple-exposure, multiband observations; and joint inference of photometric redshifts and lensing tomography.

The observed number counts of high-redshift galaxy candidates have been used to build up a statistical description of star-forming activity at redshift z ≳ 7, when galaxies reionized the Universe. Standard models predict that a high incidence of gravitationallensing will probably distort measurements of flux and number of these earliest galaxies. The raw probability of this happening has been estimated to be ∼0.5 per cent (refs 11, 12), but can be larger owing to observational biases. Here we report that gravitationallensing is likely to dominate the observed properties of galaxies with redshifts of z ≳ 12, when the instrumental limiting magnitude is expected to be brighter than the characteristic magnitude of the galaxy sample. The number counts could be modified by an order of magnitude, with most galaxies being part of multiply imaged systems, located less than 1 arcsec from brighter foreground galaxies at z ≈ 2. This lens-induced association of high-redshift and foreground galaxies has perhaps already been observed among a sample of galaxy candidates identified at z ≈ 10.6. Future surveys will need to be designed to account for a significant gravitationallensing bias in high-redshift galaxy samples.

The best gravitationallenses for detecting distant galaxies are those with the largest mass concentrations and the most advantageous configurations of that mass along the line of sight. Our new method for finding such gravitational telescopes uses optical data to identify projected concentrations of luminous red galaxies (LRGs). LRGs are biased tracers of the underlying mass distribution, so lines of sight with the highest total luminosity in LRGs are likely to contain the largest total mass. We apply this selection technique to the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and identify the 200 fields with the highest total LRG luminosities projected within a 3.'5 radius over the redshift range 0.1 {<=} z {<=} 0.7. The redshift and angular distributions of LRGs in these fields trace the concentrations of non-LRG galaxies. These fields are diverse; 22.5% contain one known galaxy cluster and 56.0% contain multiple known clusters previously identified in the literature. Thus, our results confirm that these LRGs trace massive structures and that our selection technique identifies fields with large total masses. These fields contain two to three times higher total LRG luminosities than most known strong-lensing clusters and will be among the best gravitationallensing fields for the purpose of detecting the highest redshift galaxies.

Konoplya and Zhidenko have proposed recently a rotating non-Kerr black hole metric beyond General Relativity and make an estimate for the possible deviations from the Kerr solution with the data of GW 150914. We here study the strong gravitationallensing in such a rotating non-Kerr spacetime with an extra deformation parameter. We find that the condition of existence of horizons is not inconsistent with that of the marginally circular photon orbit. Moreover, the deflection angle of the light ray near the weakly naked singularity covered by the marginally circular orbit diverges logarithmically in the strong-field limit. In the case of the completely naked singularity, the deflection angle near the singularity tends to a certain finite value, whose sign depends on the rotation parameter and the deformation parameter. These properties of strong gravitationallensing are different from those in the Johannsen-Psaltis rotating non-Kerr spacetime and in the Janis-Newman-Winicour spacetime. Modeling the supermassive central object of the Milk Way Galaxy as a Konoplya-Zhidenko rotating non-Kerr compact object, we estimated the numerical values of observables for the strong gravitationallensing including the time delay between two relativistic images.

We investigate the caustic topologies for binary gravitationallenses made up of two objects whose gravitational potential declines as 1/r{sup n}. With n<1 this corresponds to power-law dust distributions like the singular isothermal sphere. The n>1 regime can be obtained with some violations of the energy conditions, one famous example being the Ellis wormhole. Gravitationallensing provides a natural arena to distinguish and identify such exotic objects in our Universe. We find that there are still three topologies for caustics as in the standard Schwarzschild binary lens, with the main novelty coming from the secondary caustics of the close topology, which become huge at higher n. After drawing caustics by numerical methods, we derive a large amount of analytical formulae in all limits that are useful to provide deeper insight in the mathematics of the problem. Our study is useful to better understand the phenomenology of galaxy lensing in clusters as well as the distinct signatures of exotic matter in complex systems.

Active galactic nuclei (AGNs) and quasars are important astrophysical objects to understand. Recently, microlensing observations have constrained the size of the quasar X-ray emission region to be of the order of 10 gravitational radii of the central supermassive black hole. For distances within a few gravitational radii, light paths are strongly bent by the strong gravity field of the central black hole. If the central black hole has nonzero angular momentum (spin), then a photon’s polarization plane will be rotated by the gravitational Faraday effect. The observed X-ray flux and polarization will then be influenced significantly by the strong gravity field near the source. Consequently, linear gravitationallensing theory is inadequate for such extreme circumstances. We present simple algorithms computing the strong lensing effects of Kerr black holes, including the effects on polarization. Our algorithms are realized in a program “KERTAP” in two versions: MATLAB and Python. The key ingredients of KERTAP are a graphic user interface, a backward ray-tracing algorithm, a polarization propagator dealing with gravitational Faraday rotation, and algorithms computing observables such as flux magnification and polarization angles. Our algorithms can be easily realized in other programming languages such as FORTRAN, C, and C++. The MATLAB version of KERTAP is parallelized using the MATLAB Parallel Computing Toolbox and the Distributed Computing Server. The Python code was sped up using Cython and supports full implementation of MPI using the “mpi4py” package. As an example, we investigate the inclination angle dependence of the observed polarization and the strong lensing magnification of AGN X-ray emission. We conclude that it is possible to perform complex numerical-relativity related computations using interpreted languages such as MATLAB and Python.

Active galactic nuclei (AGNs) and quasars are important astrophysical objects to understand. Recently, microlensing observations have constrained the size of the quasar X-ray emission region to be of the order of 10 gravitational radii of the central supermassive black hole. For distances within a few gravitational radii, light paths are strongly bent by the strong gravity field of the central black hole. If the central black hole has nonzero angular momentum (spin), then a photon’s polarization plane will be rotated by the gravitational Faraday effect. The observed X-ray flux and polarization will then be influenced significantly by the strong gravity field near the source. Consequently, linear gravitationallensing theory is inadequate for such extreme circumstances. We present simple algorithms computing the strong lensing effects of Kerr black holes, including the effects on polarization. Our algorithms are realized in a program “KERTAP” in two versions: MATLAB and Python. The key ingredients of KERTAP are a graphic user interface, a backward ray-tracing algorithm, a polarization propagator dealing with gravitational Faraday rotation, and algorithms computing observables such as flux magnification and polarization angles. Our algorithms can be easily realized in other programming languages such as FORTRAN, C, and C++. The MATLAB version of KERTAP is parallelized using the MATLAB Parallel Computing Toolbox and the Distributed Computing Server. The Python code was sped up using Cython and supports full implementation of MPI using the “mpi4py” package. As an example, we investigate the inclination angle dependence of the observed polarization and the strong lensing magnification of AGN X-ray emission. We conclude that it is possible to perform complex numerical-relativity related computations using interpreted languages such as MATLAB and Python.

Exact interior and exterior solutions to Einstein's field equations are derived for vacuum strings. The exterior solution for a uniform density vacuum string corresponds to a conical space while the interior solution is that of a spherical cap. For Mu equals 0-1/4 the external metric is ds-squared = -dt-squared + dr-squared + (1-4 Mu)-squared r-squared dphi-squared + dz-squared, where Mu is the mass per unit length in the string in Planck masses per Planck length. A maximum mass per unit length for a string is 6.73 x 10 to the 27th g/cm. It is shown that strings cause temperature fluctuations in the cosmic microwave background and produce equal brightness double QSO images separated by up to several minutes of arc. Formulae for lensing probabilities, image splittings, and time delays are derived for strings in a realistic cosmological setting. String searches using ST, the VLA, and the COBE satellite are discussed.

We present a list of candidate gravitationallylensed dusty star-forming galaxies (DSFGs) from the HerMES Large Mode Survey and the Herschel Stripe 82 Survey. Together, these partially overlapping surveys cover 372 deg2 on the sky. After removing local spiral galaxies and known radio-loud blazars, our candidate list of lensed DSFGs is composed of 77 sources with 500 μm flux densities (S 500) greater than 100 mJy. Such sources are dusty starburst galaxies similar to the first bright sub-millimeter galaxies (SMGs) discovered with SCUBA. We expect a large fraction of this list to be strongly lensed, with a small fraction made up of bright SMG-SMG mergers that appear as hyper-luminous infrared galaxies ({L}{IR}\\gt {10}13 {L}⊙ ). Thirteen of the 77 candidates have spectroscopic redshifts from CO spectroscopy with ground-based interferometers, putting them at z\\gt 1 and well above the redshift of the foreground lensing galaxies. The surface density of our sample is 0.21 ± 0.03 deg-2. We present follow-up imaging of a few of the candidates to confirm their lensing nature. The sample presented here is an ideal tool for higher-resolution imaging and spectroscopic observations to understand the detailed properties of starburst phenomena in distant galaxies. Herschel is an ESA space observatory with science instruments provided by European-led Principal Investigator consortia and with important participation from NASA.

In recent years, it has become possible to detect individual dark matter subhalos near images of strongly lensed extended background galaxies. Typically, only the most massive subhalos in the strong lensing region may be detected this way. In this work, we show that strong lenses may also be used to constrain the much more numerous population of lower mass subhalos that are too small to be detected individually. In particular, we show that the power spectrum of projected density fluctuations in galaxy halos can be measured using strong gravitationallensing. We develop the mathematical framework of power spectrum estimation, and test our method on mock observations. We use our results to determine the types of observations required to measure the substructure power spectrum with high significance. We predict that deep observations (~10 hours on a single target) with current facilities can measure this power spectrum at the 3σ level, with no apparent degeneracy with unknown clumpiness in the background source structure or fluctuations from detector noise. Upcoming ALMA measurements of strong lenses are capable of placing strong constraints on the abundance of dark matter subhalos and the underlying particle nature of dark matter.

The South Pole Telescope (SPT) is a 10-meter microwave background telescope located at the geographic South Pole that completed a deep multi-band survey of ˜2,500 square degrees of the southern sky in Fall 2011. The high angular resolution and sensitivity enable a reconstruction of the matter potential integrated toward the last scattering surface, effectively weighing the Hubble volume. The inferred lensing potential power spectrum is a sensitive probe of cosmological structure growth and geometry beyond the temperature and polarization power spectra. I will present the results of our analysis using an optimal trispectrum estimator to achieve the highest signal-to-noise measurement of gravitationallensing of the CMB to date. Careful control of astrophysical and instrumental contaminants of the non-Gaussian signature of lensing allow us to place robust constraints on dark energy and the sum of the masses of neutrinos. I will also discuss how the correlation of our lensing maps with galaxy clustering surveys can yield novel astrophysical and cosmological information. The talk will conclude by previewing the potential of joint analyses of our lensing measurements with Planck satellite data, as well as of new data currently being collected by SPTpol.

The quasar SDSS J133401.39+331534.3 at z = 2.426 is found to be a two-image gravitationallylensed quasar with an image separation of 0.''833. The object is first identified as a lensed quasar candidate in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Quasar Lens Search, and then confirmed as a lensed system from follow-up observations at the Subaru and University of Hawaii 2.2 m telescopes. We estimate the redshift of the lensing galaxy to be 0.557 based on absorption lines in the quasar spectra as well as the color of the galaxy. In particular, we observe the system with the Subaru Telescope AO188 adaptive optics with a laser guide star, in order to derive accurate astrometry, which well demonstrates the usefulness of the laser guide star adaptive optics imaging for studying strong lens systems. Our mass modeling with improved astrometry implies that a nearby bright galaxy {approx}4'' apart from the lensing galaxy is likely to affect the lens potential.

We take advantage of the magnification in size and flux of a galaxy provided by gravitationallensing to analyze the properties of 62 strongly lensed galaxies from the Sloan Lens ACS (SLACS) Survey. The sample of lensed galaxies spans a redshift range of 0.20 ≤ z ≤ 1.20 with a median redshift of z = 0.61. We use the lens modeling code LENSFIT to derive the luminosities, sizes, and Sérsic indices of the lensed galaxies. The measured properties of the lensed galaxies show a primarily compact, {sup d}isk{sup -}like population with the peaks of the size and Sérsic index distributions corresponding to ∼1.50 kpc and n ∼ 1, respectively. Comparison of the SLACS galaxies to a non-lensing, broadband imaging survey shows that a lensing survey allows us to probe a galaxy population that reaches ∼2 mag fainter. Our analysis allows us to compare the (z) = 0.61 disk galaxy sample (n ≤ 2.5) to an unprecedented local galaxy sample of ∼670, 000 SDSS galaxies at z ∼ 0.1; this analysis indicates that the evolution of the luminosity-size relation since z ∼ 1 may not be fully explained by a pure-size or pure-luminosity evolution but may instead require a combination of both. Our observations are also in agreement with recent numerical simulations of disk galaxies that show evidence of a mass-dependent evolution since z ∼ 1, where high-mass disk galaxies (M{sub *} > 10{sup 9} M{sub ☉}) evolve more in size and low-mass disk galaxies (M{sub *} ≤ 10{sup 9} M{sub ☉}) evolve more in luminosity.

We reconstruct the gravitationallensing convergence signal from cosmic microwave background (CMB) polarization data taken by the Polarbear experiment and cross-correlate it with cosmic infrared background maps from the Herschel satellite. From the cross spectra, we obtain evidence for gravitationallensing of the CMB polarization at a statistical significance of 4.0σ and indication of the presence of a lensing B-mode signal at a significance of 2.3σ. We demonstrate that our results are not biased by instrumental and astrophysical systematic errors by performing null tests, checks with simulated and real data, and analytical calculations. This measurement of polarization lensing, made via the robust cross-correlation channel, not only reinforces POLARBEAR auto-correlation measurements, but also represents one of the early steps towards establishing CMB polarization lensing as a powerful new probe of cosmology and astrophysics.

Galaxy-scale strong gravitationallensing has long been used to measure cosmological parameters such as the Hubble constant as well as the dark matter properties of galaxy halos. Additional mass around the lens galaxy or projected in the line-of-sight affects the light bending and needs to be incorporated into lensing analyses. We present new results from a spectroscopic survey to characterize the environmental and line-of-sight mass for 28 galaxy-scale lens fields. We show how the external convergence, number of lensed images, and lensed image separation are altered by groups at the lens and along the sightline.

We simulate the effects of gravitationallensing on the source count of high redshift galaxies as projected to be observed by the Hubble Frontier Fields program and the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) in the near future. Taking the mass density profile of the lensing object to be the singular isothermal sphere (SIS) or the Navarro-Frenk-White (NFW) profile, we model a lens residing at a redshift of z{sub L} = 0.5 and explore the radial dependence of the resulting magnification bias and its variability with the velocity dispersion of the lens, the photometric sensitivity of the instrument, the redshift of the background source population, and the intrinsic maximum absolute magnitude (M{sub max}) of the sources. We find that gravitationallensing enhances the number of galaxies with redshifts z∼> 13 detected in the angular region θ{sub E}/2 ≤ θ ≤ 2θ{sub E} (where θ{sub E} is the Einstein angle) by a factor of ∼ 3 and 1.5 in the HUDF (df/dν{sub 0} ∼ 9 nJy) and medium-deep JWST surveys (df/dν{sub 0} ∼ 6 nJy). Furthermore, we find that even in cases where a negative magnification bias reduces the observed number count of background sources, the lensing effect improves the sensitivity of the count to the intrinsic faint-magnitude cut-off of the Schechter luminosity function. In a field centered on a strong lensing cluster, observations of z∼> 6 and z∼> 13 galaxies with JWST can be used to infer this cut-off magnitude for values as faint as M{sub max} ∼ -14.4 and -16.1 mag (L{sub min} ≈ 2.5 × 10{sup 26} and 1.2 × 10{sup 27} erg s{sup −1} Hz{sup −1}) respectively, within the range bracketed by existing theoretical models. Gravitationallensing may therefore offer an effective way of constraining the low-luminosity cut-off of high-redshift galaxies.

The effect of the large-scale structure of the universe on the propagation of light rays is studied. The development of the large-scale density fluctuations in the omega = 1 universe is calculated within the cold dark matter scenario using a smooth particle approximation. The propagation of about 10 to the 6th random light rays between the redshift z = 5 and the observer was followed. It is found that the effect of shear is negligible, and the amplification of single images is dominated by the matter in the beam. The spread of amplifications is very small. Therefore, the filled-beam approximation is very good for studies of strong lensing by galaxies or clusters of galaxies. In the simulation, the column density was averaged over a comoving area of approximately (1/h Mpc)-squared. No case of a strong gravitationallensing was found, i.e., no 'over-focused' image that would suggest that a few images might be present. Therefore, the large-scale structure of the universe as it is presently known does not produce multiple images with gravitationallensing on a scale larger than clusters of galaxies.

The measurement of the Shapiro time delay in binary pulsar systems with highly-inclined orbit can be affected both by the motion of the pulsar's companion because of the finite time it takes a photon to cross the binary, and by the gravitational light bending if the orbit is sufficiently edge-on relative to the line of sight. Here we calculate the effect of retardation due to the companion's motion on various time delays in pulsar binaries, including the Shaipro delay, the geometric lensing delay, and the lens-induced delays associated with the pulsar rotation. Our results can be applied to systems so highly inclined that near conjunction gravitationallensing of the pulsar radiation by the companion becomes important (the recently discovered double pulsar system J0737-3039 may exemplify such a system). To the leading order, the effect of retardation is to shift all the delay curves backward in time around the orbit conjunction, without affecting the shape and amplitude of the curves. The time shift is of order the photon orbit crossing time, and ranges from a second to a few minutes for the observed binary pulsar systems. In the double pulsar system J0737-3039, the motion of the companion may also affect the interpretation of the recent correlated interstellar scintillation measurements. Finally, we show that lensing sets an upper limit on the magnitude of the frame-dragging time delay caused by the companion's spin, and makes this delay unobservable in stellar-mass binary pulsar systems.

We have discovered strong gravitationallensing features in the core of the nearby cluster Abell 3827 by analyzing Gemini South GMOS images. The most prominent strong lensing feature is a highly magnified, ring-shaped configuration of four images around the central cD galaxy. GMOS spectroscopic analysis puts this source at z {approx} 0.2. Located {approx}20'' away from the central galaxy is a secondary tangential arc feature which has been identified as a background galaxy with z {approx} 0.4. We have modeled the gravitational potential of the cluster core, taking into account the mass from the cluster, the brightest cluster galaxy (BCG), and other galaxies. We derive a total mass of (2.7 {+-} 0.4) x 10{sup 13} M {sub sun} within 37 h {sup -1} kpc. This mass is an order of magnitude larger than that derived from X-ray observations. The total mass derived from lensing data suggests that the BCG in this cluster is perhaps the most massive galaxy in the nearby universe.

We use South Pole Telescope data from 2008 and 2009 to detect the non-Gaussian signature in the cosmic microwave background (CMB) produced by gravitationallensing and to measure the power spectrum of the projected gravitational potential. We constrain the ratio of the measured amplitude of the lensing signal to that expected in a fiducial {Lambda}CDM cosmological model to be 0.86 {+-} 0.16, with no lensing disfavored at 6.3{sigma}. Marginalizing over {Lambda}CDM cosmological models allowed by the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP7) results in a measurement of A{sub lens} 0.90 {+-} 0.19, indicating that the amplitude of matter fluctuations over the redshift range 0.5 {approx}< z {approx}< 5 probed by CMB lensing is in good agreement with predictions. We present the results of several consistency checks. These include a clear detection of the lensing signature in CMB maps filtered to have no overlap in Fourier space, as well as a 'curl' diagnostic that is consistent with the signal expected for {Lambda}CDM. We perform a detailed study of bias in the measurement due to noise, foregrounds, and other effects and determine that these contributions are relatively small compared to the statistical uncertainty in the measurement. We combine this lensing measurement with results from WMAP7 to improve constraints on cosmological parameters when compared to those from WMAP7 alone: we find a factor of 3.9 improvement in the measurement of the spatial curvature of the universe, {Omega}{sub k} = -0.0014 {+-} 0.0172; a 10% improvement in the amplitude of matter fluctuations within {Lambda}CDM, {sigma}{sub 8} = 0.810 {+-} 0.026; and a 5% improvement in the dark energy equation of state, w = -1.04 {+-} 0.40. When compared with the measurement of w provided by the combination of WMAP7 and external constraints on the Hubble parameter, the addition of the lensing data improves the measurement of w by 15% to give w -1.087 {+-} 0.096.

We present a detailed strong lensing analysis of a Hubble Space Telescope/Advanced Camera for Surveys legacy data set for the first gravitational lens, Q0957+561. With deep imaging we identify 24 new strongly lensed features, which we use to constrain mass models. We model the stellar component of the lens galaxy using the observed luminosity distribution and the dark matter halo using several different density profiles. We draw on the weak lensing analysis by Nakajima et al. to constrain the mass sheet and environmental terms in the lens potential. Adopting the well-measured time delay, we find H{sub 0} = 85{sup +14}{sub -13} km s{sup -1} Mpc{sup -1} (68% CL) using lensing constraints alone. The principal uncertainties in H{sub 0} are tied to the stellar mass-to-light ratio (a variant of the radial profile degeneracy in lens models). Adding constraints from stellar population synthesis models, we obtain H{sub 0} = 79.3{sup +6.7}{sub -8.5} km s{sup -1} Mpc{sup -1} (68% CL). We infer that the lens galaxy has a rising rotation curve and a dark matter distribution with an inner core. Intriguingly, we find the quasar flux ratios predicted by our models to be inconsistent with existing radio measurements, suggesting the presence of substructure in the lens.

We examine the prospects of detecting demagnified images of gravitationallenses in observations of strongly lensed millimeter-wave molecular emission lines with ALMA. We model the lensing galaxies as a superposition of a dark matter component, a stellar component, and a central super-massive black hole (SMBH) and assess the detectability of the central images for a range of relevant parameters (e.g., stellar core, black hole mass, and source size). We find that over a large range of plausible parameters, future deep observations of lensed molecular lines with ALMA should enable the detection of the central images at ≳3σ significance. We use a Fisher analysis to examine the constraints that could be placed on these parameters in various scenarios and find that for large stellar cores, both the core size and the mass of the central SMBHs can be accurately measured. We also study the prospects for detecting binary SMBHs with such observations and find that only under rare conditions and with very long integrations (∼40 hr) the masses of both SMBHs may be measured using the distortions of central images.

We investigate the impact of active galactic nucleus (AGN) feedback on the gravitationallensing properties of a sample of galaxy clusters with masses in the range 1014-1015 Msolar, using state-of-the-art simulations. Adopting a ray-tracing algorithm, we compute the cross-section of giant arcs from clusters simulated with dark matter (DM) only physics, DM plus gas with cooling and star formation (CSF) and DM plus gas with cooling, star formation and AGN feedback (CSFBH). Once AGN feedback is included, baryonic physics boosts the strong-lensing cross-section by much less than previously estimated using clusters simulated with only CSF. For a cluster with a virial mass of 7.4 × 1014 Msolar, inclusion of baryonic physics without feedback can boost the cross-section by as much as a factor of 3, in agreement with previous studies, whereas once AGN feedback is included this maximal figure falls to a factor of 2 at most. Typically, clusters simulated with DM and CSFBH physics have similar cross-sections for the production of giant arcs. We also investigate how baryonic physics affects the weak-lensing properties of the simulated clusters by fitting NFW profiles to synthetic weak-lensing data sets using a Markov Chain Monte Carlo approach, and by performing non-parametric mass reconstructions. Without the inclusion of AGN feedback, measured concentration parameters can be much larger than those obtained with AGN feedback, which are similar to the DM-only case.

All-sky catalogs provide a wealth of information about gravitationallensing events that has not yet been utilized. We present a method for matching lensing events to catalogs and finding the probability that the association is genuine. Given a likely candidate for the lens object associated with an event, it is possible to break the inherent degeneracy in microlensing and estimate the mass of the lens, depending on its distance. Eight percent of microlensing events have matches in the 2MASS catalog, and there are many more matches in catalogs that cover other wave bands. In addition to detecting the associated lens or source, it is possible that the cataloged object is a companion or host to the actual lens. This opens up the possibility of finding dark nearby lenses, such as stellar remnants or planets that are associated with cataloged objects. We propose various methods for determining which events are most likely to be caused by nearby lenses, and apply them to our matches. We present some interesting matched objects and the results of observations of those objects. This work is supported in part by the NSF REU and DOD ASSURE programs under NSF grant no. 0754568 and by the Smithsonian Institution.

Since the bulk of the matter comprising galaxy clusters exists in the form of dark matter, gravitational N-body simulations have historically been an effective way to investigate large scale structure formation and the astrophysics of galaxy clusters. However, upcoming telescopes such as the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope are expected to have lower systematic errors than older generations, reducing measurement uncertainties and requiring that astrophysicists better quantify the impact of baryonic matter on the cluster lensing signal. Here we outline the effects of baryonic processes on cluster density profiles and on weak lensing mass and concentration estimates. Our analysis is done using clusters grown in the suite of cosmological hydrodynamical simulations known as cosmo-OWLS.

The upcoming new generation of spectroscopic galaxy redshift surveys will provide large samples of cosmic voids, large distinct, underdense structures in the universe. Combining these with future galaxy imaging surveys, we study the prospects of probing the underlying matter distribution in and around cosmic voids via the weak gravitationallensing effects of stacked voids, utilizing both shear and magnification information. The statistical precision is greatly improved by stacking a large number of voids along different lines of sight, even when taking into account the impact of inherent miscentering and projection effects. We show that Dark Energy Task Force Stage IV surveys, such as the Euclid satellite and the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope, should be able to detect the void lensing signal with sufficient precision from stacking abundant medium-sized voids, thus providing direct constraints on the matter density profile of voids independent of assumptions on galaxy bias.

We use gravitationallensing to study the small-scale distribution of matter in galaxies. First, we examine galaxies and their dark matter halos. Roughly half of all observed four-image quasar lenses have image flux ratios that differ from the values predicted by simple lens potentials. We show that smooth departures from elliptical symmetry fail to explain anomalous radio fluxes, strengthening the case for dark matter substructure. Our results have important implications for the "missing satellites'' problem. We then consider how time delays between lensed images can be used to identify lens galaxies containing small-scale structure. We derive an analytic relation for the time delay between the close pair of images in a "fold'' lens, and perform Monte Carlo simulations to investigate the utility of time delays for probing small- scale structure in realistic lens populations. We compare our numerical predictions with systems that have measured time delays and discover two anomalous lenses. Next, we consider microlensing, where stars in the lens galaxy perturb image magnifications. This is relevant at optical wavelengths, where the size of the lensed source is comparable to the Einstein radius of a typical star. Our simulations of negative-parity images show that raising the fraction of dark matter relative to stars increases image flux variability for small sources, and decreases it for large sources. This suggests that quasar accretion disks and broad-emission-line regions may respond differently to microlensing. We also consider extended sources with a range of ellipticities, which has relevance to a population of inclined accretion disks. Depending on their orientation, more elongated sources lead to more rapid variability, which may complicate the interpretation of microlensing light curves. Finally, we consider prospects for observing strong lensing by the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way, Sgr A*. Assuming a black hole on the million

The time delay between two relativistic images in the strong gravitationallensing governed by Gauss-Bonnet gravity is studied. We make a complete analytical derivation of the expression of time delay in presence of Gauss-Bonnet coupling. With respect to Schwarzschild, the time delay decreases as a consequence of the shrinking of the photon sphere. As the coupling increases, the second term in the time delay expansion becomes more relevant. Thus time delay in strong limit encodes some new information about geometry in five-dimensional spacetime with Gauss-Bonnet correction.

We present a novel proposal strategy for the Metropolis-Hastings algorithm designed to efficiently sample general convex polytopes in 100 or more dimensions. This improves upon previous sampling strategies used for free-form reconstruction of gravitationallenses, but is general enough to be applied to other fields. We have written a parallel implementation within the lens modelling framework GLASS. Testing shows that we are able to produce uniform uncorrelated random samples which are necessary for exploring the degeneracies inherent in lens reconstruction.

We report the discovery of an exceptionally bright gravitationallylensed submillimeter galaxy at z=4.69. Through our on-going Herschel survey of gravitationallylensed high-redshift galaxies in the fields of massive galaxy clusters ("The Herschel Lensing Survey (HLS)" - PI: Egami), we identified in the field of a z=0.3 cluster a bright Herschel/SPIRE source ( 100 mJy at 500 um) whose far-infrared/submillimeter spectral energy distribution is peaking toward 500 um, indicating that its redshift is likely above 4. The APEX/LABOCA 870 um image showed that this source is not only bright (60 mJy at 870 um) but also spatially extended even with the LABOCA resolution of 20'', although it is invisible in the HST/ACS F606W image. The spectroscopic redshift came from the IRAM30m/EMIR observations, which detected the CO(4-3) and CO(5-4) lines with the corresponding redshift of 4.69. The high-resolution (beam=0.8"x0.7") SMA 345 GHz map has subsequently resolved this source into four components, which are likely four lensed images of the same background galaxy. This lensing interpretation has been confirmed by the HST WFC3/IR observations, which not only revealed the same morphology for the multiple sources but also detected the 5th image at the predicted location. We therefore conclude that this lensed system exhibits a rare hyperbolic umbilic image configuration, which produces a large magnification factor of x100-200 when the four components are combined. What is even more remarkable is that the four HST sources are not spatially coincident with the four SMA sources. In other words, this z=4.69 galaxy appears to consist of two spatially distinct components, one of which (the one responsible for the bright IR/submm emission) is completely invisible in the HST near-infrared images. This suggests that there may exist a population of dust-obscured galaxies at z>4 that are hidden from our deep optical/near-infrared view.

A new and potentially powerful method of measuring the mass of a galaxy (or dark matter concentration) which lies close in position to a background polarized radio jet is proposed. Using the fact that the polarization angle is not changed by lensing, an 'alignment-breaking parameter' is defined which is a sensitive indicator of gravitational distortion. The method remains sensitive over a wide redshift range of the gravitational lens. This technique is applied to the analysis of polarimetric observations of the jet of 3C 9 at z = 2.012, combined with a newly discovered 20.3 mag foreground galaxy at z = 0.2538 to 'weigh' the galaxy and obtain an approximate upper limit to the mass-to-light ratio.

Strong gravitationallensing has recently become one of the most important tools for studying star formation properties in extremely high redshift galaxies. Dust-obscured star-forming galaxies found at far-infrared/sub-millimeter wavelengths are important in the assembly of stellar mass and the evolution of massive galaxies. We present Submillimeter Array (SMA) imaging of Lockman 102, a strongly lensed submillimeter galaxy at z=5.29, discovered by the Herschel Space Observatory. The system was observed at 250, 350, 500 and 1000 microns, corresponding to rest frame wavelengths of 40, 56, 80, and 159 microns respectively. The observations were targeted at the thermal dust emission and the [CII] interstellar medium cooling line. We report an estimated photometric redshift of ~1.9 for the lensing galaxy, making it possibly the most distant lens currently known. We use uvmcmcfit, a publicly available Markov Chain Monte Carlo software tool we have developed for interferometric data, to fit lens models to Lockman 102. The results obtained from uvmcmcfit suggest the lensed system is composed of a single lensing galaxy and two extended sources. We have strong constraints on an intrinsic flux density of Lockman 102 of 4.55 + 0.45 mJy magnified by a factor of 12.5 + 1.2. From a modified blackbody fit we compute an intrinsic far infrared luminosity of 5.5e12 L⊙.This implies a star formation rate of ~950 M⊙ yr-1, making Lockman 102 an extremely active dusty galaxy. We also compare Lockman 102 to other dusty luminous starburst galaxies at similar redshift, HLS0918 (Rawle et al. 2014) and AzTEC-3 (Riechers et al. 2014a) and determine it is among the most luminous and active galaxies ~1 Gyr after the Big Bang. It is only with strong lensing that the SMA is able to undertake such a detailed study of a galaxy at this distance; the continued improvements from new facilities such as ALMA offer a promising future in observing even more distant lensed systems.

Describes cosmic flukes which offer a unique window on new information about the universe. Discusses the historical background, theory, and detection of this effect. Proposes the importance of information found by the examination of these phenomena. (CW)

We constrain the scalar field dark energy model with an inverse power-law potential, i.e., V(φ) ∝ φ{sup −α} (α > 0), from a set of recent cosmological observations by compiling an updated sample of Hubble parameter measurements including 30 independent data points. Our results show that the constraining power of the updated sample of H(z) data with the HST prior on H{sub 0} is stronger than those of the SCP Union2 and Union2.1 compilations. A recent sample of strong gravitationallensing systems is also adopted to confine the model even though the results are not significant. A joint analysis of the strong gravitationallensing data with the more restrictive updated Hubble parameter measurements and the Type Ia supernovae data from SCP Union2 indicates that the recent observations still can not distinguish whether dark energy is a time-independent cosmological constant or a time-varying dynamical component.

In strong gravitational lens systems, the light bending is usually dominated by one main galaxy, but may be affected by other mass along the line of sight (LOS). Shear and convergence can be used to approximate the contributions from less significant perturbers (e.g. those that are projected far from the lens or have a small mass), but higher order effects need to be included for objects that are closer or more massive. We develop a framework for multiplane lensing that can handle an arbitrary combination of tidal planes treated with shear and convergence and planes treated exactly (i.e. including higher order terms). This framework addresses all of the traditional lensing observables including image positions, fluxes, and time delays to facilitate lens modelling that includes the non-linear effects due to mass along the LOS. It balances accuracy (accounting for higher order terms when necessary) with efficiency (compressing all other LOS effects into a set of matrices that can be calculated up front and cached for lens modelling). We identify a generalized multiplane mass sheet degeneracy, in which the effective shear and convergence are sums over the lensing planes with specific, redshift-dependent weighting factors.

We proposed to use WFPC2 and NICMOS to observe the quadruple gravitational lens system MG 0414+0534, a QSO at z = 2.64 that is lensed by a single elliptical galaxy. However, we limit our plans to the 5 orbits that the TAC imposed for us to concentrate on NICMOS. We recently observed the system with HST and WFPC2/PC1 {Falco, Leh'ar & Shapiro 1997, AJ 112, 897; hereafter FLS96}. We measured a light profile for the lens galaxy G, and discovered a blue arc connecting the 3 brightest images of the QSO. Although our elliptical single-potential lens models account qualitatively for all the properties of the system, they fail quantitatively, with fits that achieve only chi^2/N_dof 5. Adding an independent shear axis allows a good fit to the data, but the physical source of such a shear remains to be determined. We intend to investigate whether the primary lens galaxy and its dark halo suffice to explain the observed lensing geometry or whether there are significant external tidal perturbations. We propose to use NICMOS to obtain a high-SNR determination of the brightness profile of the lens galaxy in the J, H and K bands. We would also obtain IR fluxes for the images that we would use to study extinction in this system, and to determine whether it originates in the lens galaxy or in the host galaxy of the lensed QSO. SAO proposal ID # P3878-9-96

Gravitationallensing provides a unique and powerful probe of the mass distributions of distant galaxies. Four-image lens systems with fold and cusp configurations have two or three bright images near a critical point. Within the framework of singularity theory, we derive analytic relations that are satisfied for a light source that lies a small but finite distance from the astroid caustic of a four-image lens. Using a perturbative expansion of the image positions, we show that the time delay between the close pair of images in a fold lens scales with the cube of the image separation, with a constant of proportionality that depends on a particular third derivative of the lens potential. We also apply our formalism to cusp lenses, where we develop perturbative expressions for the image positions, magnifications and time delays of the images in a cusp triplet. Some of these results were derived previously for a source asymptotically close to a cusp point, but using a simplified form of the lens equation whose validity may be in doubt for sources that lie at astrophysically relevant distances from the caustic. Along with the work of Keeton, Gaudi & Petters, this paper demonstrates that perturbation theory plays an important role in theoretical lensing studies.

We investigate the influence of random motion of individual stars in the lensing galaxy on the light curve of a gravitationallylensed background quasar. We compare this with the effects of the transverse motion of the galaxy. We find that three-dimensional random motion of stars with a velocity dispersion sigma in each dimension is more effective in producing 'peaks' in a microlensed light curve by a factor a about 1.3 than motion of the galaxy with a transverse velocity v(t) = sigma. This effectiveness parameter a seems to depend only weakly on the surface mass density. With an assumed transverse velocity of v(t) = 600 km/s of the galaxy lensing the QSO 2237+0305 and a measured velocity dispersion of sigma = 215 km/s, the expected rate of maxima in the light curves calculated for bulk motion alone has to be increased by about 10 percent due to the random motion of stars. As a consequence, the average time interval Delta t between two high-magnification events is smaller than the time interval Delta(t) bulk, calculated for bulk motion alone, Delta t about 0.9 Delta(t) bulk.

Recent first detections of the cross-correlation of the thermal Sunyaev–Zel’dovich (tSZ) signal in Planck cosmic microwave background (CMB) temperature maps with gravitationallensing maps inferred from the Planck CMB data and the CFHTLenS galaxy survey provide new probes of the relationship between baryons and dark matter. Using cosmological hydrodynamics simulations, we show that these cross-correlation signals are dominated by contributions from hot gas in the intracluster medium (ICM), rather than diffuse, unbound gas located beyond the virial radius (the “missing baryons”). Thus, these cross-correlations offer a tool with which to study the ICM over a wide range of halo masses and redshifts. In particular, we show that the tSZ—CMB lensing cross-correlation is more sensitive to gas in lower-mass, higher-redshift halos and gas at larger cluster-centric radii than the tSZ—galaxy lensing cross-correlation. Combining these measurements with primary CMB data will constrain feedback models through their signatures in the ICM pressure profile. We forecast the ability of ongoing and future experiments to constrain the parameters of a phenomenological ICM model, including the mean amplitude of the pressure–mass relation, the redshift evolution of this amplitude, and the mean outer logarithmic slope of the pressure profile. The results are promising, with ≈5%–20% precision constraints achievable with upcoming experiments, even after marginalizing over cosmological parameters.

Inflationary cosmological theories predict, and some more general aesthetic criteria suggest, that the large-scale spatial curvature of the universe k should be accurately zero (i.e., flat), a condition which is satisfied when the universe's present mean density and the value of the cosmological constant Lambda have certain pairs of values. Available data on the frequency of multiple image-lensing of high-redshift quasars by galaxies suggest that the cosmological constant cannot make a dominant contribution to producing a flat universe. In particular, if the mean density of the universe is as small as the baryon density inferred from standard cosmic nucleosynthesis calculations or as determined from typical dynamical studies of galaxies and galaxy clusters, then a value of Lambda large enough to produce a k = 0 universe would result in a substantially higher frequency of multiple-image lensing of quasars than has been observed so far. Shortcomings of the available lens data and uncertainties concerning galaxy properties allow some possibility of escaping this conclusion, but systematic searches for a gravitationallenses and continuing investigations of galaxy mass distributions should soon provide decisive information. It is also noted that nonzero-curvature cosmological models can account for the observed frequency of galaxy-quasar lens systems and for a variety of other constraints.

We report the discoveries of the two-image gravitationallylensed quasars, SDSS J0746+4403 and SDSS J1406+6126, selected from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). SDSS J0746+4403, which will be included in our lens sample for statistics and cosmology, has a source redshift of z{sub s} = 2.00, an estimated lens redshift of z{sub l} {approx} 0.3, and an image separation of 1.08''. SDSS J1406+6126 has a source redshift of z{sub s} = 2.13, a spectroscopically measured lens redshift of z{sub l} = 0.27, and an image separation of 1.98''. We find that the two quasar images of SDSS J1406+6126 have different intervening Mg II absorption strengths, which are suggestive of large variations of absorbers on kpc scales. The positions and fluxes of both the lensed quasar systems are easily reproduced by simple mass models with reasonable parameter values. These objects bring to 18 the number of lensed quasars that have been discovered from the SDSS data.

We report the discovery of a new gravitationallylensed quasar, SDSS J131339.98+515128.3, at a redshift of 1:875 with an image separation of 1: 0024. The lensing galaxy is clearly detected in visible-light follow-up observations. We also identify three absorption-line doublets in the spectra of the lensed quasar images, from which we measure the lens redshift to be 0:194. Like several other known lenses, the lensed quasar images have different continuum slopes. This difference is probably the result of reddening and microlensing in the lensing galaxy. The lensed quasar was selected by correlating Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) spectroscopic quasars with Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS) sources and choosing quasars that show near-infrared (IR) excess. The near-IR excess can originate, for example, from the contribution of the lensing galaxy at near-IR wavelengths. We show that the near-IR excess technique is indeed an efficient method to identify lensed systems from a large sample of quasars.

We systematically examine the properties of null geodesics around an electrically charged, asymptotically flat black hole in Eddington-inspired Born-Infeld gravity, varying the electric charge of the black hole and the coupling constant in the theory. We find that the radius of the unstable circular orbit for a massless particle decreases with the coupling constant, if the value of the electrical charge is fixed. Additionally, we consider the strong gravitationallensing around such a black hole. We show that the deflection angle, the position angle of the relativistic images, and the magnification due to the light bending in strong gravitational field are quite sensitive to the parameters determining the black hole solution. Thus, through the accurate observations associated with the strong gravitationallensing, it might be possible to reveal the gravitational theory in a strong field regime.

We explore the variability properties of long, high-cadence general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic (GRMHD) simulations across the electromagnetic spectrum using an efficient, GPU-based radiative transfer algorithm. We focus on both standard and normal evolution (SANE) and magnetically arrested disk (MAD) simulations with parameters that successfully reproduce the time-averaged spectral properties of Sgr A* and the size of its image at 1.3 mm. We find that the SANE models produce short-timescale variability with amplitudes and power spectra that closely resemble those inferred observationally. In contrast, MAD models generate only slow variability at lower flux levels. Neither set of models shows any X-ray flares, which most likely indicates that additional physics, such as particle acceleration mechanisms, need to be incorporated into the GRMHD simulations to account for them. The SANE models show strong, short-lived millimeter/infrared (IR) flares, with short (≲1 hr) time lags between the millimeter and IR wavelengths, that arise from the combination of short-lived magnetic flux tubes and strong-field gravitationallensing near the horizon. Such events provide a natural explanation for the observed IR flares with no X-ray counterparts.

We propose a novel method to select satellite galaxies in outer regions of galaxy groups or clusters using weak gravitationallensing. The method is based on the theoretical expectation that the tangential shear pattern around satellite galaxies would appear with negative values at an offset distance from the center of the main halo. We can thus locate the satellite galaxies statistically with an offset distance of several lensing smoothing scales by using the standard reconstruction of surface mass density maps from weak lensing observation. We test the idea using high-resolution cosmological simulations. We show that subhalos separated from the center of the host halo are successfully located even without assuming the position of the center. For a number of such subhalos, the characteristic mass and offset length can be also estimated on a statistical basis. We perform a Fisher analysis to show how well upcoming weak lensing surveys can constrain the mass density profile of satellite galaxies. In the case of the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope with a sky coverage of 20,000 deg{sup 2}, the mass of the member galaxies in the outer region of galaxy clusters can be constrained with an accuracy of ∼0.1 dex for galaxy clusters with mass 10{sup 14} h {sup –1} M {sub ☉} at z = 0.15. Finally we explore the detectability of tidal stripping features for subhalos having a wide range of masses of 10{sup 11}-10{sup 13} h {sup –1} M {sub ☉}.

We present the analysis of the light curves of nine high-magnification single-lens gravitational microlensing events with lenses passing over source stars, including OGLE-2004-BLG-254, MOA-2007-BLG-176, MOA-2007-BLG-233/OGLE-2007-BLG-302, MOA-2009-BLG-174, MOA-2010-BLG-436, MOA-2011-BLG-093, MOA-2011-BLG-274, OGLE-2011-BLG-0990/MOA-2011-BLG-300, and OGLE-2011-BLG-1101/MOA-2011-BLG-325. For all of the events, we measure the linear limb-darkening coefficients of the surface brightness profile of source stars by measuring the deviation of the light curves near the peak affected by the finite-source effect. For seven events, we measure the Einstein radii and the lens-source relative proper motions. Among them, five events are found to have Einstein radii of less than 0.2 mas, making the lenses very low mass star or brown dwarf candidates. For MOA-2011-BLG-274, especially, the small Einstein radius of θE ~ 0.08 mas combined with the short timescale of t E ~ 2.7 days suggests the possibility that the lens is a free-floating planet. For MOA-2009-BLG-174, we measure the lens parallax and thus uniquely determine the physical parameters of the lens. We also find that the measured lens mass of ~0.84 M ⊙ is consistent with that of a star blended with the source, suggesting that the blend is likely to be the lens. Although we did not find planetary signals for any of the events, we provide exclusion diagrams showing the confidence levels excluding the existence of a planet as a function of the separation and mass ratio.

We present the analysis of the light curves of nine high-magnification single-lens gravitational microlensing events with lenses passing over source stars, including OGLE-2004-BLG-254, MOA-2007-BLG-176, MOA-2007-BLG-233/OGLE-2007-BLG-302, MOA-2009-BLG-174, MOA-2010-BLG-436, MOA-2011-BLG-093, MOA-2011-BLG-274, OGLE-2011-BLG-0990/MOA-2011-BLG-300, and OGLE-2011-BLG-1101/MOA-2011-BLG-325. For all of the events, we measure the linear limb-darkening coefficients of the surface brightness profile of source stars by measuring the deviation of the light curves near the peak affected by the finite-source effect. For seven events, we measure the Einstein radii and the lens-source relative proper motions. Among them, five events are found to have Einstein radii of less than 0.2 mas, making the lenses very low mass star or brown dwarf candidates. For MOA-2011-BLG-274, especially, the small Einstein radius of {theta}{sub E} {approx} 0.08 mas combined with the short timescale of t{sub E} {approx} 2.7 days suggests the possibility that the lens is a free-floating planet. For MOA-2009-BLG-174, we measure the lens parallax and thus uniquely determine the physical parameters of the lens. We also find that the measured lens mass of {approx}0.84 M{sub Sun} is consistent with that of a star blended with the source, suggesting that the blend is likely to be the lens. Although we did not find planetary signals for any of the events, we provide exclusion diagrams showing the confidence levels excluding the existence of a planet as a function of the separation and mass ratio.

Luminous extragalactic water masers are known to be associated with active galactic nuclei and have provided accurate estimates for the mass of the central supermassive black hole and the size and structure of the circumnuclear accretion disc in nearby galaxies. To find water maser systems at much higher redshifts, we have begun a survey of known gravitationallylensed quasars and star-forming galaxies. In this paper, we present a search for 22 GHz (rest-frame) water masers towards five dusty, gravitationallylensed quasars and star-forming galaxies at redshifts between 2.3 and 2.9 with the Effelsberg radio telescope and the Expanded Very Large Array (EVLA). Our observations do not find any new definite examples of high-redshift water maser galaxies, suggesting that large reservoirs of dust and gas are not a sufficient condition for powerful water maser emission. However, we do find the tentative detection of a water maser system in the active galaxy IRAS 10214+4724 at redshift 2.285. Our survey has now doubled the number of gravitationallylensed galaxies and quasars that have been searched for high-redshift water maser emission. We also present an updated analysis of the high-redshift water maser luminosity function that is based on the results presented here and from the only cosmologically distant (z > 1) water maser galaxy found thus far, MG J0414+0534 at redshift 2.64. By comparing with the water maser luminosity function locally and at moderate redshifts, we find that there must be some evolution in the luminosity function of water maser galaxies at high redshifts. By assuming a moderate evolution [(1 +z)4] in the water maser luminosity function, we find that blind surveys for water maser galaxies are only worthwhile with extremely high sensitivity like that of the planned Square Kilometre Array (Phase 2), which is scheduled to be completed by 2020. However, instruments like the EVLA and MeerKAT will be capable of detecting water maser systems similar to the

A scalar field phi with a potential V(phi) varies as phi exp -alpha(alpha is greater than 0) has an energy density, behaving like that of a time-variable cosmological 'constant', that redshifts less rapidly than the energy densities of radiation and matter, and so might contribute significantly to the present energy density. We compute, in this spatially flat cosmology, the gravitationallensing optical depth, and the expected lens redshift distribution for fixed source redshift. We find, for the values of alpha of about 4 and baryonic density parameter Omega of about 0.2 consistent with the classical cosmological tests, that the optical depth is significantly smaller than that in a constant-Lambda model with the same Omega. We also find that the redshift of the maximum of the lens distribution falls between that in the constant-Lambda model and that in the Einstein-de Sitter model.

We consider the gravitationallensing of rays emitted by a compact object (CO) within a distribution of plasma with power-law density ∝r-h. For the simplest case of a cloud of spherically symmetric cold non-magnetized plasma, the diverging effect of the plasma and the converging effect of gravitationallensing compete with one another. When h < 2, the plasma effect dominates over the vacuum Schwarzschild curvature, potentially shifting the radius of the unstable circular photon orbit outside the surface of the CO. When this occurs, we define two relatively narrow radio frequency bands in which plasma effects are particularly significant. Rays in the escape window have ω0 < ω ≤ ω+ and are free to propagate to infinity from the CO surface. To a distant observer, the visible portion of the CO surface appears to shrink as the observed frequency is reduced, and vanishes entirely at ω0, in excess of the plasma frequency at the CO surface. We define the anomalous propagation window for frequencies ω- < ω ≤ ω0. Rays emitted from the CO surface within this frequency range are dominated by optical effects from the plasma and curve back to the surface of the CO, effectively cloaking the star from distant observers. We conclude with a study of neutron star (NS) compactness ratios for a variety of nuclear matter equations of state (EoS). For h = 1, NSs generated from stiff EoS should display significant frequency dependence in the EW, and lower values of h with softer EoS can also show these effects.

We derive an exact solution (in the form of a series expansion) to compute gravitationallensing magnification maps. It is based on the backward gravitational lens mapping of a partition of the image plane in polygonal cells (inverse polygon mapping, IPM), not including critical points (except perhaps at the cell boundaries). The zeroth-order term of the series expansion leads to the method described by Mediavilla et al. The first-order term is used to study the error induced by the truncation of the series at zeroth order, explaining the high accuracy of the IPM even at this low order of approximation. Interpreting the Inverse Ray Shooting (IRS) method in terms of IPM, we explain the previously reported N -3/4 dependence of the IRS error with the number of collected rays per pixel. Cells intersected by critical curves (critical cells) transform to non-simply connected regions with topological pathologies like auto-overlapping or non-preservation of the boundary under the transformation. To define a non-critical partition, we use a linear approximation of the critical curve to divide each critical cell into two non-critical subcells. The optimal choice of the cell size depends basically on the curvature of the critical curves. For typical applications in which the pixel of the magnification map is a small fraction of the Einstein radius, a one-to-one relationship between the cell and pixel sizes in the absence of lensing guarantees both the consistence of the method and a very high accuracy. This prescription is simple but very conservative. We show that substantially larger cells can be used to obtain magnification maps with huge savings in computation time.

We present and describe IM3SHAPE, a new publicly available galaxy shape measurement code for weak gravitationallensing shear. IM3SHAPE performs a maximum likelihood fit of a bulge-plus-disc galaxy model to noisy images, incorporating an applied point spread function. We detail challenges faced and choices made in its design and implementation, and then discuss various limitations that affect this and other maximum likelihood methods. We assess the bias arising from fitting an incorrect galaxy model using simple noise-free images and find that it should not be a concern for current cosmic shear surveys. We test IM3SHAPE on the GravitationalLensing Accuracy Testing 2008 (GREAT08) challenge image simulations, and meet the requirements for upcoming cosmic shear surveys in the case that the simulations are encompassed by the fitted model, using a simple correction for image noise bias. For the fiducial branch of GREAT08 we obtain a negligible additive shear bias and sub-two per cent level multiplicative bias, which is suitable for analysis of current surveys. We fall short of the sub-per cent level requirement for upcoming surveys, which we attribute to a combination of noise bias and the mismatch between our galaxy model and the model used in the GREAT08 simulations. We meet the requirements for current surveys across all branches of GREAT08, except those with small or high noise galaxies, which we would cut from our analysis. Using the GREAT08 metric we we obtain a score of Q = 717 for the usable branches, relative to the goal of Q = 1000 for future experiments. The code is freely available from https://bitbucket.org/joezuntz/im3shape

We derive an exact solution (in the form of a series expansion) to compute gravitationallensing magnification maps. It is based on the backward gravitational lens mapping of a partition of the image plane in polygonal cells (inverse polygon mapping, IPM), not including critical points (except perhaps at the cell boundaries). The zeroth-order term of the series expansion leads to the method described by Mediavilla et al. The first-order term is used to study the error induced by the truncation of the series at zeroth order, explaining the high accuracy of the IPM even at this low order of approximation. Interpreting the Inverse Ray Shooting (IRS) method in terms of IPM, we explain the previously reported N {sup -3/4} dependence of the IRS error with the number of collected rays per pixel. Cells intersected by critical curves (critical cells) transform to non-simply connected regions with topological pathologies like auto-overlapping or non-preservation of the boundary under the transformation. To define a non-critical partition, we use a linear approximation of the critical curve to divide each critical cell into two non-critical subcells. The optimal choice of the cell size depends basically on the curvature of the critical curves. For typical applications in which the pixel of the magnification map is a small fraction of the Einstein radius, a one-to-one relationship between the cell and pixel sizes in the absence of lensing guarantees both the consistence of the method and a very high accuracy. This prescription is simple but very conservative. We show that substantially larger cells can be used to obtain magnification maps with huge savings in computation time.

We use the cosmo-OWLS suite of cosmological hydrodynamical simulations, which includes different galactic feedback models, to predict the cross-correlation signal between weak gravitationallensing and the thermal Sunyaev-Zeldovich (tSZ) y-parameter. The predictions are compared to the recent detection reported by van Waerbeke and collaborators. The simulations reproduce the weak lensing-tSZ cross-correlation, ξyκ(θ), well. The uncertainty arising from different possible feedback models appears to be important on small scales only (0θ lesssim 1 arcmin), while the amplitude of the correlation on all scales is sensitive to cosmological parameters that control the growth rate of structure (such as σ8, Ωm and Ωb). This study confirms our previous claim (in Ma et al.) that a significant proportion of the signal originates from the diffuse gas component in low-mass (Mhalo lesssim 1014 Msolar) clusters as well as from the region beyond the virial radius. We estimate that approximately 20% of the detected signal comes from low-mass clusters, which corresponds to about 30% of the baryon density of the Universe. The simulations also suggest that more than half of the baryons in the Universe are in the form of diffuse gas outside halos (gtrsim 5 times the virial radius) which is not hot or dense enough to produce a significant tSZ signal or be observed by X-ray experiments. Finally, we show that future high-resolution tSZ-lensing cross-correlation observations will serve as a powerful tool for discriminating between different galactic feedback models.

We use the cosmo-OWLS suite of cosmological hydrodynamical simulations, which includes different galactic feedback models, to predict the cross-correlation signal between weak gravitationallensing and the thermal Sunyaev-Zeldovich (tSZ) y-parameter. The predictions are compared to the recent detection reported by van Waerbeke and collaborators. The simulations reproduce the weak lensing-tSZ cross-correlation, ξ{sub yκ}(θ), well. The uncertainty arising from different possible feedback models appears to be important on small scales only (0θ ∼ 5 times the virial radius) which is not hot or dense enough to produce a significant tSZ signal or be observed by X-ray experiments. Finally, we show that future high-resolution tSZ-lensing cross-correlation observations will serve as a powerful tool for discriminating between different galactic feedback models.

Numerical N-body simulations play a central role in the assessment of weak gravitationallensing statistics, residual systematics and error analysis. In this paper, we investigate and quantify the impact of finite simulation volume on weak lensing two- and four-point statistics. These finite support (FS) effects are modelled for several estimators, simulation box sizes and source redshifts, and validated against a new large suite of 500 N-body simulations. The comparison reveals that our theoretical model is accurate to better than 5 per cent for the shear correlation function ξ+(θ) and its error. We find that the most important quantities for FS modelling are the ratio between the measured angle θ and the angular size of the simulation box at the source redshift, θbox(zs), or the multipole equivalent ℓ/ℓbox(zs). When this ratio reaches 0.1, independently of the source redshift, the shear correlation function ξ+ is suppressed by 5, 10, 20 and 25 per cent for Lbox = 1000, 500, 250 and 147 h-1 Mpc, respectively. The same effect is observed in ξ-(θ), but at much larger angles. This has important consequences for cosmological analyses using N-body simulations and should not be overlooked. We propose simple semi-analytic correction strategies that account for shape noise and survey masks, generalizable to any weak lensing estimator. From the same simulation suite, we revisit the existing non-Gaussian covariance matrix calibration of the shear correlation function, and propose a new one based on the 9-year Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe)+baryon acoustic oscillations+supernova cosmology. Our calibration matrix is accurate at 20 per cent down to the arcminute scale, for source redshifts in the range 0 < z < 3, even for the far off-diagonal elements. We propose, for the first time, a parametrization for the full ξ- covariance matrix, also 20 per cent accurate for most elements.

An arbitrary surface mass density of the gravitational lens can be decomposed into multipole components. We simulate the ray tracing for the multipolar mass distribution of the generalized Singular Isothermal Sphere model based on deflection angles, which are analytically calculated. The magnification patterns in the source plane are then derived from an inverse shooting technique. As has been found, the caustics of odd mode lenses are composed of two overlapping layers for some lens models. When a point source traverses this kind of overlapping caustics, the image numbers change by {+-}4, rather than {+-}2. There are two kinds of caustic images. One is the critical curve and the other is the transition locus. It is found that the image number of the fold is exactly the average value of image numbers on two sides of the fold, while the image number of the cusp is equal to the smaller one. We also focus on the magnification patterns of the quadrupole (m = 2) lenses under the perturbations of m = 3, 4, and 5 mode components and found that one, two, and three butterfly or swallowtail singularities can be produced, respectively. With the increasing intensity of the high-order perturbations, the singularities grow up to bring sixfold image regions. If these perturbations are large enough to let two or three of the butterflies or swallowtails make contact, then eightfold or tenfold image regions can be produced as well. The possible astronomical applications are discussed.

Gravitational waves (GW's) are ripples of space and time that are created when the universe unleashes its violent nature in the presence of strong gravity. Merging black holes (BH) are one of the most promising sources of GW's. In order to detect and physically study the GW's emitted by merging BH with ground based detectors such as Advanced LIGO, we must accurately predict how the waveforms look and behave. This can only be done by numerically simulating BH mergers on supercomputers, because all analytical approximations fail near the time of merger. This poster focuses on using these simulations to answer the question of ``What do merging BH look like''? I will present visualizations made using the Spectral Einstein Code (SpEC) and in particular a raytracing lensing code, developed by the SXS Lensing team, that shows how merging BH bend the light around them. I will also present visualizations of the vortex and tendex lines for a binary BH system, using SpEC. Vortex lines describe how an observer will be twisted by the BH and the tendex lines describe how much an observer would be stretched and squeezed. I am exploring how these lines change with time.

The four-image gravitationallylensed quasar QSO 2237+0305 is microlensed by stars in the lens galaxy. The amplitude of microlensing variability can be used to infer the relative size of the quasar as a function of wavelength; this provides a test of quasar models. Toward this end, we present Spitzer Space Telescope Infrared Spectrograph and Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) observations of QSO 2237+0305, finding the following. (1) The infrared (IR) spectral energy distribution (SED) is similar to that of other bright radio-quiet quasars, contrary to an earlier claim. (2) A dusty torus model with a small opening angle fits the overall shape of the IR SED well, but the quantitative agreement is poor due to an offset in wavelength of the silicate feature. (3) The flux ratios of the four lensed images can be derived from the IRAC data despite being unresolved. We find that the near-IR fluxes are increasingly affected by microlensing toward shorter wavelengths. (4) The wavelength dependence of the IRAC flux ratios is consistent with the standard quasar model in which an accretion disk and a dusty torus both contribute near 1 μm in the rest frame. This is also consistent with recent IR spectropolarimetry of nearby quasars.

The installation of WFC3 on the Hubble Space Telescope pushed the frontier of high-redshift galaxy studies to only 500 Myr after the Big Bang. However, observations in this epoch remain challenging and are limited to the brightest galaxies; the fainter sources believed to be responsible for reionizing the Universe remain beyond the grasp of Hubble. With gravitationallensing, however, we can benefit from the magnification of faint sources, which brings them within reach of today's telescopes. The Hubble Frontier Fields program is a deep survey of strongly lensing clusters observed in the optical and near-infrared. Unfortunately, detecting highly magnified, intrinsically faint galaxies in these fields has proved challenging due to the bright foregound cluster galaxies and intracluster light. We have developed a technique using wavelet decomposition to overcome these difficulties and detect galaxies at z~7 with intrinsic UV magnitudes as faint as MUV = -13. We present this method and the resulting luminosity functions, which support a steep faint-end slope extending out to the observational limits. Our method has uncovered hundreds of galaxies at z > 6 fainter than any that have been seen before, providing our first insight into the small galaxy population during the epoch of reionization and a preview of the capabilities of JWST.

We present the results of an imaging observation campaign conducted with the Subaru Telescope adaptive optics system (IRCS+AO188) on 28 gravitationallylensed quasars and candidates (23 doubles, 1 quad, 1 possible triple, and 3 candidates) from the SDSS Quasar Lens Search. We develop a novel modelling technique that fits analytical and hybrid point spread functions (PSFs), while simultaneously measuring the relative astrometry, photometry, as well as the lens galaxy morphology. We account for systematics by simulating the observed systems using separately observed PSF stars. The measured relative astrometry is comparable with that typically achieved with the Hubble Space Telescope, even after marginalizing over the PSF uncertainty. We model for the first time the quasar host galaxies in five systems, without a priori knowledge of the PSF, and show that their luminosities follow the known correlation with the mass of the supermassive black hole. For each system, we obtain mass models far more accurate than those previously published from low-resolution data, and we show that in our sample of lensing galaxies the observed light profile is more elliptical than the mass, for ellipticity ≳0.25. We also identify eight doubles for which the sources of external and internal shear are more reliably separated, and should therefore be prioritized in monitoring campaigns aimed at measuring time delays in order to infer the Hubble constant.

The components of blazar jets that emit radiation span a factor of 1010 in scale. The spatial structure of these emitting regions depends on the observed energy. Photons emitted at different sites cross the lens plane at different distances from the mass-weighted center of the lens. Thus there are differences in magnification ratios and time delays between the images of lensed blazars observed at different energies. When the lens structure and redshift are known from optical observations, these constraints can elucidate the structure of the source at high energies. At these energies, current technology is inadequate to resolve these sources, and the observed light curve is thus the sum of the images. Durations of γ-ray flares are short compared with typical time delays; thus both the magnification ratio and the time delay can be measured for the delayed counterparts. These measurements are a basis for localizing the emitting region along the jet. To demonstrate the power of strong gravitationallensing, we build a toy model based on the best studied and the nearest relativistic jet M87.

We use two model-independent methods to constrain the curvature of the universe. In the first method, we study the evolution of the curvature parameter (Ωk0) with redshift by using the observations of the Hubble parameter and transverse comoving distances obtained from the age of galaxies. Secondly, we also use an indirect method based on the mean image separation statistics of gravitationallylensed quasars. The basis of this methodology is that the average image separation of lensed images will show a positive, negative or zero correlation with the source redshift in a closed, open or flat universe respectively. In order to smoothen the datasets used in both the methods, we use a non-parametric method namely, Gaussian Process (GP). Finally from first method we obtain Ωk0 = 0.025±0.57 for a presumed flat universe while the cosmic curvature remains constant throughout the redshift region 0 < z < 1.37 which indicates that the universe may be homogeneous. Moreover, the combined result from both the methods suggests that the universe is marginally closed. However, a flat universe can be incorporated at 3σ level.

Most of the matter in the Universe is not luminous, and can be observed only through its gravitational influence on the appearance of luminous matter. Weak gravitationallensing is a technique that uses the distortions of the images of distant galaxies as a tracer of dark matter: such distortions are induced as the light passes through large-scale distributions of dark matter in the foreground. The patterns of the induced distortions reflect the density of mass along the line of sight and its distribution, and the resulting 'cosmic shear' can be used to distinguish between alternative cosmologies. But previous attempts to measure this effect have been inconclusive. Here we report the detection of cosmic shear on angular scales of up to half a degree using 145,000 galaxies and along three separate lines of sight. We find that the dark matter is distributed in a manner consistent with either an open universe, or a flat universe that is dominated by a cosmological constant. Our results are inconsistent with the standard cold-dark-matter model.

The unknown nature of `dark energy' motivates continued cosmological tests of large-scale gravitational physics. We present a new consistency check based on the relative amplitude of non-relativistic galaxy peculiar motions, measured via redshift-space distortion, and the relativistic deflection of light by those same galaxies traced by galaxy-galaxy lensing. We take advantage of the latest generation of deep, overlapping imaging and spectroscopic data sets, combining the Red Cluster Sequence Lensing Survey, the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope Lensing Survey, the WiggleZ Dark Energy Survey and the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey. We quantify the results using the `gravitational slip' statistic EG, which we estimate as 0.48 ± 0.10 at z = 0.32 and 0.30 ± 0.07 at z = 0.57, the latter constituting the highest redshift at which this quantity has been determined. These measurements are consistent with the predictions of General Relativity, for a perturbed Friedmann-Robertson-Walker metric in a Universe dominated by a cosmological constant, which are EG = 0.41 and 0.36 at these respective redshifts. The combination of redshift-space distortion and gravitationallensing data from current and future galaxy surveys will offer increasingly stringent tests of fundamental cosmology.

When a quasar is gravitationallylensed by a galaxy, its multiple images show light-curves that are offset by awell defined time delay, which depends on the mass profile of the lens and on cosmological distances to the lens and the source. By measuring the time-delay and accurately modelling the deflector's mass profile, this provides one-step measurements of cosmological distances to objects at redshift $z\\sim1,$ whence the cosmological parameters (primarily $H_0$). One can turn this argument around and learn about galaxies instead, or even perform a joint (and less biased) inference. The joint modelling of the lens, the source structure and time-variability implies that the DM halos of lens galaxies at z~0.4-1 and the source properties of quasars and their hosts at z~1-2are inferred, besides information on cosmology that is complementary to other low-redshift probes such as SN Ia and BAO.A large (N~100) sample of lensed quasars will be transformative in this sense, as these systems are rare on the sky.I will describe our STRIDES[*] searches in the Dark Energy Survey, aiming at 120 previously unknown lensed quasars brighter than i=21. Candidates have been selected with a variety of data mining techniques and flagged for follow-up (on spectroscopy, high-resolution imaging and lightcurve variability), which will take place in the following months. I will also cover recent modelling development of already monitored lenses within our collaboration, including a sharp multi-band reconstruction of the sources and use of stellar kinematics to ensure unbiased uncertainties on the lens mass profiles.This will lead to: (i) percent-level uncertainties on cosmological parameters(ii) insight on the coevolution of quasars and their host galaxies throughout cosmic time, up to z~2(iii) a quantative description of dark matter density profiles and the substructure content in massive galaxies up to z~1.[*] strides.physics.ucsb.edu

On the extragalactic side, one of the most remarkable results coming out of Herschel is the discovery of extremely bright (>100 mJy in the SPIRE bands) gravitationallylensed galaxies. The great sensitivity and mapping speed of SPIRE have enabled us to find these rare extraordinary objects. What is truly exciting about these bright lensed galaxies is that they enable a variety of detailed multi-wavelength follow-up observations, shedding new light on the physical properties of these high-redshift sources. In this regard, our OT1 program, "SPIRE Snapshot Survey of Massive Galaxy Clusters" turned out to be a great success. After imaging ~50 galaxies out of 279 in the program, we have already found two spectacularly bright lensed galaxies, one of which is at a redshift of 4.69. This type of cluster-lensed sources are not only bright but also spatially stretched over a large scale, so ALMA (or NOEMA in the north) is likely to be able to study them at the level of individual GMCs. Such studies will open up a new frontier in the study of high-redshift galaxies. Here, we propose to extend this highly efficient and effective survey of gravitationallylensed galaxies to another 353 clusters carefully chosen from the SPT and CODEX cluster samples. These samples contain newly discovered high-redshift (z>0.3) massive (>3-4e14 Msun) clusters, which can be used as powerful gravitationallenses to magnify sources at high redshift. With the OT1 and OT2 surveys together, we expect to find ~20 highly magnified SPIRE sources with exceptional brightnesses (assuming a discovery rate of ~1/30). Such a unique sample of extraordinary objects will enable a variety of follow-up sciences, and will therefore remain as a great legacy of the Herschel mission for years to come.

We report the discovery of the two-image gravitationallylensed quasar SDSS J133222.62+034739.9 (SDSS J1332+0347) with an image separation of {Delta}{theta} = 1.14''. This system consists of a source quasar at z{sub s} = 1.445 and a lens galaxy at z{sub l} = 0.191. The agreement of the luminosity, ellipticity and position angle of the lens galaxy with those expected from lens model confirms the lensing hypothesis.

The fraction of ionizing photons that escape from young star-forming galaxies is one of the largest uncertainties in determining the role of galaxies in cosmic reionization. Yet traditional techniques for measuring this fraction are inapplicable at the redshifts of interest due to foreground screening by the Lyα forest. In an earlier study, we demonstrated a reduction in the equivalent width of low-ionization absorption lines in composite spectra of Lyman break galaxies at z ≅ 4 compared to similar measures at z ≅ 3. This might imply a lower covering fraction of neutral gas and hence an increase with redshift in the escape fraction of ionizing photons. However, our spectral resolution was inadequate to differentiate between several alternative explanations, including changes with redshift in the outflow kinematics. Here we present higher quality spectra of three gravitationallylensed Lyman break galaxies at z ≅ 4 with a spectral resolution sufficient to break this degeneracy of interpretation. We present a method for deriving the covering fraction of low-ionization gas as a function of outflow velocity and compare the results with similar quality data taken for galaxies at lower redshift. We find an interesting but tentative trend of lower covering fractions of low-ionization gas for galaxies with strong Lyα emission. In combination with the demographic trends of Lyα emission with redshift from our earlier work, our results provide new evidence for a reduction in the average H I covering fraction, and hence an increase in the escape fraction of ionizing radiation from Lyman break galaxies, with redshift.

Gravitationallensing has been identified as a critical cosmological tool in studying the evolution of large scale structure in the universe as well as the nature of dark matter and dark energy. One of the primary physical systematics of weak lensing due to large scale structure (cosmic shear) is the intrinsic alignment (IA) of galaxies, which poses a barrier to precision weak lensing measurements. Methods for identifying and removing its effects on cosmological information are key to the success of weak lensing survey science goals. We have expanded model-independent techniques to isolate and remove the IA contamination from the lensing signal. These self-calibration techniques take advantage of complementary survey information to self-calibrate the lensing signal, which along with unique lensing and IA geometry and separation dependencies, allow us to reconstruct the IA correlations at the level of the spectrum and bispectrum. We have demonstrated that the self-calibration approach can reduce the IA bias over most relevant scale and redshift ranges by up to a factor of 10 or more. This could reduce a potential 10-20% bias in some cosmological information down to the 1-2% level. The self-calibration techniques have the added benefit of preserving the IA signal, which itself provides additional information that can be used in studying the formation and evolution of large scale structure in the universe. We have also identified a new source of intrinsic alignment contamination in cross-correlations with cosmic microwave background lensing and proposed a method to calibrate it, and we explored the potential of future surveys to measure directly various 2- and 3-point intrinsic alignment correlations. Finally, we have investigated the use of exact anisotropic and inhomogeneous models in general relativity for large- and small-scale structures in the universe, developing the frameworks necessary to analyze gravitationallensing in such models, and have compared them to

An exceptionally bright z=3.005 gravitationallylensed submillimeter galaxy (SMG) was discovered last year using the Planck all-sky survey data. Having a peak flux density of 1.1 Jy at 300 microns, this SMG is by far the most luminous among many tens of similar objects discovered so far. Even taking into account the effect of lensing amplification, this galaxy must be extremely luminous intrinsically. Therefore, we would like to understand the origin and nature of this exceptional object. Here, we propose to use the FLITECAM grism spectroscopy mode to observe the redshifted H-alpha emission at z=3.005. Our main goal is to detect H-alpha emission from this galaxy and to find out (1) how much H-alpha emission is attenuated by dust (by comparing SFR(H-alpha) and SFR(LIR)), and (2) if there is any sign of a luminous AGN (e.g., a broad H-alpha component, high [N II]/H-alpha ratio). A large dust extinction (e.g., non-detection of H-alpha) would indicate that star-forming regions are concentrated in a small volume (within a few-hundred pc scale), and that the galaxy is undergoing a phase of violent starburst. On the other hand, a modest dust extinction would suggest that star-forming regions are distributed over large scales (> kpc), and that the galaxy is undergoing a phase of secular evolution (i.e., on the main-sequence of star-forming galaxies). If there is a luminous AGN harbored in this object, we should also be able to see its sign.

SNAP is a candidate for the Joint Dark Energy Mission (JDEM) that seeks to place constraints on the dark energy using two distinct methods. The first, Type Ia SN, is discussed in a separate white paper. The second method is weak gravitationallensing, which relies on the coherent distortions in the shapes of background galaxies by foreground mass structures. The excellent spatial resolution and photometric accuracy afforded by a 2-meter space-based observatory are crucial for achieving the high surface density of resolved galaxies, the tight control of systematic errors in the telescope's Point Spread Function (PSF), and the exquisite redshift accuracy and depth required by this project. These are achieved by the elimination of atmospheric distortion and much of the thermal and gravity loads on the telescope. The SN and WL methods for probing dark energy are highly complementary and the error contours from the two methods are largely orthogonal. The nominal SNAP weak lensing survey covers 1000 square degrees per year of operation in six optical and three near infrared filters (NIR) spanning the range 350 nm to 1.7 {micro}m. This survey will reach a depth of 26.6 AB magnitude in each of the nine filters and allow for approximately 100 resolved galaxies per square arcminute, {approx} 3 times that available from the best ground-based surveys. Photometric redshifts will be measured with statistical accuracy that enables scientific applications for even the faint, high redshift end of the sample. Ongoing work aims to meet the requirements on systematics in galaxy shape measurement, photometric redshift biases, and theoretical predictions.

A long-standing question in cosmology is whether gravitationallensing changes the distance-redshift relation D (z) or the mean flux density of sources. Interest in this has been rekindled by recent studies in non-linear relativistic perturbation theory that find biases in both the area of a surface of constant redshift and in the mean distance to this surface, with a fractional bias in both cases of the order of the mean squared convergence . Any such area bias could alter cosmic microwave background (CMB) cosmology, and the corresponding bias in mean flux density could affect supernova cosmology. We show that the perturbation to the area of a surface of constant redshift is in reality much smaller, being of the order of the cumulative bending angle squared, or roughly a part-in-a-million effect. This validates the arguments of Weinberg that the mean magnification of sources is unity and of Kibble & Lieu that the mean direction-averaged inverse magnification is unity. It also validates the conventional treatment of CMB lensing. But the existence of a scatter in magnification will cause any non-linear function of these conserved quantities to be statistically biased. The fractional bias in such quantities is generally of order , which is orders of magnitude larger than the area perturbation. Claims for large bias in area or flux density of sources appear to have resulted from misinterpretation of such effects: they do not represent a new non-Newtonian effect, nor do they invalidate standard cosmological analyses.

We present two-dimensional line-of-sight stellar kinematics of the lens galaxy in the Einstein Cross, obtained with the GEMINI 8 m telescope, using the GMOS integral-field spectrograph. The stellar kinematics extend to a radius of 4'' (with 0.''2 spaxels), covering about two-thirds of the effective (or half-light) radius R{sub e} {approx_equal} 6'' of this early-type spiral galaxy at redshift z{sub l} {approx_equal} 0.04, of which the bulge is lensing a background quasar at redshift z{sub s} {approx_equal} 1.7. The velocity map shows regular rotation up to {approx}100 km s{sup -1} around the minor axis of the bulge, consistent with axisymmetry. The velocity dispersion map shows a weak gradient increasing toward a central (R < 1'') value of {sigma}{sub 0} = 170 {+-} 9 km s{sup -1}. We deproject the observed surface brightness from Hubble Space Telescope imaging to obtain a realistic luminosity density of the lens galaxy, which in turn is used to build axisymmetric dynamical models that fit the observed kinematic maps. We also construct a gravitational lens model that accurately fits the positions and relative fluxes of the four quasar images. We combine these independent constraints from stellar dynamics and gravitationallensing to study the total mass distribution in the inner parts of the lens galaxy. We find that the resulting luminous and total mass distribution are nearly identical around the Einstein radius R{sub E} = 0.''89, with a slope that is close to isothermal, but which becomes shallower toward the center if indeed mass follows light. The dynamical model fits to the observed kinematic maps result in a total mass-to-light ratio Y{sub dyn} = 3.7 {+-} 0.5 Y{sub sun,I} (in the I band). This is consistent with the Einstein mass M{sub E} = 1.54 x 10{sup 10} M {sub sun} divided by the (projected) luminosity within R{sub E} , which yields a total mass-to-light ratio of Y {sub E} = 3.4 Y{sub sun,I}, with an error of at most a few percent. We estimate from

We have assembled a new sample of some of the most FIR-luminous galaxies in the Universe and have imaged them in 1.1 mm dust emission and measured their redshifts 1 < z < 4 via CO emission lines using the 32-m Large Millimeter Telescope / Gran Telescopio Milimétrico (LMT/GTM). Our sample of 31 submm galaxies (SMGs), culled from the Planck and Herschel all-sky surveys, includes 14 of the 21 most luminous galaxies known, with LFIR > 1014 L ⊙ and SFR > 104M⊙/yr. These extreme inferred luminosities - and multiple / extended 1.1 mm images - imply that most or all are strongly gravitationallylensed, with typical magnification μ ~ 10 × . The gravitationallensing provides two significant benefits: (1) it boosts the S/N, and (2) it allows investigation of star formation and gas processes on sub-kpc scales.

Recent results from the BICEP, Keck Array and Planck Collaborations demonstrate that Galactic foregrounds are an unavoidable obstacle in the search for evidence of inflationary gravitational waves in the cosmic microwave background (CMB) polarization. Beyond the foregrounds, the effect of lensing by intervening large-scale structure further obscures all but the strongest inflationary signals permitted by current data. With a plethora of ongoing and upcoming experiments aiming to measure these signatures, careful and self-consistent consideration of experiments' foreground- and lensing-removal capabilities is critical in obtaining credible forecasts of their performance. We investigate the capabilities of instruments such as Advanced ACTPol, BICEP3 and Keck Array, CLASS, EBEX10K, PIPER, Simons Array, SPT-3G and SPIDER, and projects as COrE+, LiteBIRD-ext, PIXIE and Stage IV, to clean contamination due to polarized synchrotron and dust from raw multi-frequency data, and remove lensing from the resulting co-added CMB maps (either using iterative CMB-only techniques or through cross-correlation with external data). Incorporating these effects, we present forecasts for the constraining power of these experiments in terms of inflationary physics, the neutrino sector, and dark energy parameters. Made publicly available through an online interface, this tool enables the next generation of CMB experiments to foreground-proof their designs, optimize their frequency coverage to maximize scientific output, and determine where cross-experimental collaboration would be most beneficial. We find that analyzing data from ground, balloon and space instruments in complementary combinations can significantly improve component separation performance, delensing, and cosmological constraints over individual datasets. In particular, we find that a combination of post-2020 ground- and space-based experiments could achieve constraints such as σ(r)~1.3×10-4, σ(nt)~0.03, σ( ns )~1.8×10

Recent results from the BICEP, Keck Array and Planck Collaborations demonstrate that Galactic foregrounds are an unavoidable obstacle in the search for evidence of inflationary gravitational waves in the cosmic microwave background (CMB) polarization. Beyond the foregrounds, the effect of lensing by intervening large-scale structure further obscures all but the strongest inflationary signals permitted by current data. With a plethora of ongoing and upcoming experiments aiming to measure these signatures, careful and self-consistent consideration of experiments' foreground- and lensing-removal capabilities is critical in obtaining credible forecasts of their performance. We investigate the capabilities of instruments such as Advanced ACTPol, BICEP3 and Keck Array, CLASS, EBEX10K, PIPER, Simons Array, SPT-3G and SPIDER, and projects as COrE+, LiteBIRD-ext, PIXIE and Stage IV, to clean contamination due to polarized synchrotron and dust from raw multi-frequency data, and remove lensing from the resulting co-added CMB maps (either using iterative CMB-only techniques or through cross-correlation with external data). Incorporating these effects, we present forecasts for the constraining power of these experiments in terms of inflationary physics, the neutrino sector, and dark energy parameters. Made publicly available through an online interface, this tool enables the next generation of CMB experiments to foreground-proof their designs, optimize their frequency coverage to maximize scientific output, and determine where cross-experimental collaboration would be most beneficial. We find that analyzing data from ground, balloon and space instruments in complementary combinations can significantly improve component separation performance, delensing, and cosmological constraints over individual datasets. In particular, we find that a combination of post-2020 ground- and space-based experiments could achieve constraints such as σ(r)∼1.3×10{sup −4}, σ(n{sub t})∼0

Gravitationallensing and stellar dynamics are two independent methods, based solely on gravity, to study the mass distributions of galaxies. Both methods suffer from degeneracies, however, that are difficult to break. In this paper we present a new framework that self-consistently unifies gravitationallensing and stellar dynamics, breaking some classical degeneracies that have limited their individual usage, particularly in the study of high-redshift galaxies. For any given galaxy potential, the mapping of both the unknown lensed source brightness distribution and the stellar phase-space distribution function onto the photometric and kinematic observables can be cast as a single set of coupled linear equations, which are solved by maximizing the likelihood penalty function. The Bayesian evidence penalty function subsequently allows one to find the best potential-model parameters and to quantitatively rank potential-model families or other model assumptions (e.g., PSF). We have implemented a fast algorithm that solves for the maximum-likelihood pixelized lensed source brightness distribution and the two-integral stellar phase-space distribution function f(E,Lz), assuming axisymmetric potentials. To make the method practical, we have devised a new Monte Carlo approach to Schwarzschild's orbital superposition method, based on the superposition of two-integral (E and Lz) toroidal components, to find the maximum-likelihood two-integral distribution function in a matter of seconds in any axisymmetric potential. The nonlinear parameters of the potential are subsequently found through a hybrid MCMC and Simplex optimization of the evidence. Illustrated by the power-law potential models of Evans, we show that the inclusion of stellar kinematic constraints allows the correct linear and nonlinear model parameters to be recovered, including the potential strength, oblateness, and inclination, which, in the case of gravitational-lensing constraints only, would otherwise be

A review is presented concerning the gravitationallensing of supernovae by intervening condensed objects, including dark matter candidates such as dim stars and black holes. the expansion of the supernova beam within the lens produces characteristic time-dependent amplification and polarization which depend upon the mass of the lens. The effects of the shearing of the beam due to surrounding masses are considered, although the study of these effects is confined to isolated masses whose size is much less than that of the supernova (about 10 to the 15th cm). Equations for the effects of lensing and graphs comparing these effects in different classes of supernovae are compared. It is found that candidates for lensing would be those supernovae at least as bright as their parent galaxy, or above the range of luminosities expected for their spectral class.

Gravitationallensing is a potentially powerful tool for elucidating the origin of gamma-ray emission from distant sources. Cosmic lenses magnify the emission from distant sources and produce time delays between mirage images. Gravitationally induced time delays depend on the position of the emitting regions in the source plane. The Fermi/LAT telescope continuously monitors the entire sky and detects gamma-ray flares, including those from gravitationallylensed blazars. Therefore, temporal resolution at gamma-ray energies can be used to measure these time delays, which, in turn, can be used to resolve the origin of the gamma-ray flares spatially. We provide a guide to the application and Monte Carlo simulation of three techniques for analyzing these unresolved light curves: the autocorrelation function, the double power spectrum, and the maximum peak method. We apply these methods to derive time delays from the gamma-ray light curve of the gravitationallylensed blazar PKS 1830-211. The result of temporal analysis combined with the properties of the lens from radio observations yield an improvement in spatial resolution at gamma-ray energies by a factor of 10,000. We analyze four active periods. For two of these periods the emission is consistent with origination from the core, and for the other two the data suggest that the emission region is displaced from the core by more than ˜1.5 kpc. For the core emission, the gamma-ray time delays, 23+/- 0.5 {days} and 19.7+/- 1.2 days, are consistent with the radio time delay of {26}-5+4 days.

We study deflection of light rays and gravitationallensing in the regular Bardeen no-horizon spacetimes. Flatness of these spacetimes in the central region implies existence of interesting optical effects related to photons crossing the gravitational field of the no-horizon spacetimes with low impact parameters. These effects occur due to existence of a critical impact parameter giving maximal deflection of light rays in the Bardeen no-horizon spacetimes. We give the critical impact parameter in dependence on the specific charge of the spacetimes, and discuss 'ghost' direct and indirect images of Keplerian discs, generated by photons with low impact parameters. The ghost direct images can occur only for large inclination angles of distant observers, while ghost indirect images can occur also for small inclination angles. We determine the range of the frequency shift of photons generating the ghost images and determine distribution of the frequency shift across these images. We compare them to those of the standard direct images of the Keplerian discs. The difference of the ranges of the frequency shift on the ghost and direct images could serve as a quantitative measure of the Bardeen no-horizon spacetimes. The regions of the Keplerian discs giving the ghost images are determined in dependence on the specific charge of the no-horizon spacetimes. For comparison we construct direct and indirect (ordinary and ghost) images of Keplerian discs around Reissner-Nördström naked singularities demonstrating a clear qualitative difference to the ghost direct images in the regular Bardeen no-horizon spacetimes. The optical effects related to the low impact parameter photons thus give clear signature of the regular Bardeen no-horizon spacetimes, as no similar phenomena could occur in the black hole or naked singularity spacetimes. Similar direct ghost images have to occur in any regular no-horizon spacetimes having nearly flat central region.

We study deflection of light rays and gravitationallensing in the regular Bardeen no-horizon spacetimes. Flatness of these spacetimes in the central region implies existence of interesting optical effects related to photons crossing the gravitational field of the no-horizon spacetimes with low impact parameters. These effects occur due to existence of a critical impact parameter giving maximal deflection of light rays in the Bardeen no-horizon spacetimes. We give the critical impact parameter in dependence on the specific charge of the spacetimes, and discuss "ghost" direct and indirect images of Keplerian discs, generated by photons with low impact parameters. The ghost direct images can occur only for large inclination angles of distant observers, while ghost indirect images can occur also for small inclination angles. We determine the range of the frequency shift of photons generating the ghost images and determine distribution of the frequency shift across these images. We compare them to those of the standard direct images of the Keplerian discs. The difference of the ranges of the frequency shift on the ghost and direct images could serve as a quantitative measure of the Bardeen no-horizon spacetimes. The regions of the Keplerian discs giving the ghost images are determined in dependence on the specific charge of the no-horizon spacetimes. For comparison we construct direct and indirect (ordinary and ghost) images of Keplerian discs around Reissner-Nördström naked singularities demonstrating a clear qualitative difference to the ghost direct images in the regular Bardeen no-horizon spacetimes. The optical effects related to the low impact parameter photons thus give clear signature of the regular Bardeen no-horizon spacetimes, as no similar phenomena could occur in the black hole or naked singularity spacetimes. Similar direct ghost images have to occur in any regular no-horizon spacetimes having nearly flat central region.

We study the geometry and the internal structure of the outflowing wind from the accretion disk of a quasar by observing multiple sightlines with the aid of strong gravitationallensing. Using Subaru/High Dispersion Spectrograph, we performed high-resolution (R ~ 36,000) spectroscopic observations of images A and B of the gravitationallylensed quasar SDSS J1029+2623 (at z em ~ 2.197) whose image separation angle, θ ~ 22.''5, is the largest among those discovered so far. We confirm that the difference in absorption profiles in images A and B discovered by Misawa et al. has remained unchanged since 2010, implying the difference is not due to time variability of the absorption profiles over the delay between the images, Δt ~ 744 days, but rather due to differences along the sightlines. We also discovered a time variation of C IV absorption strength in both images A and B due to a change in the ionization condition. If a typical absorber's size is smaller than its distance from the flux source by more than five orders of magnitude, it should be possible to detect sightline variations among images of other smaller separation, galaxy-scale gravitationallylensed quasars. Based on data collected at the Subaru Telescope, which is operated by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan.

We study the geometry and the internal structure of the outflowing wind from the accretion disk of a quasar by observing multiple sightlines with the aid of strong gravitationallensing. Using Subaru/High Dispersion Spectrograph, we performed high-resolution (R ∼ 36,000) spectroscopic observations of images A and B of the gravitationallylensed quasar SDSS J1029+2623 (at z {sub em} ∼ 2.197) whose image separation angle, θ ∼ 22.''5, is the largest among those discovered so far. We confirm that the difference in absorption profiles in images A and B discovered by Misawa et al. has remained unchanged since 2010, implying the difference is not due to time variability of the absorption profiles over the delay between the images, Δt ∼ 744 days, but rather due to differences along the sightlines. We also discovered a time variation of C IV absorption strength in both images A and B due to a change in the ionization condition. If a typical absorber's size is smaller than its distance from the flux source by more than five orders of magnitude, it should be possible to detect sightline variations among images of other smaller separation, galaxy-scale gravitationallylensed quasars.

In strong gravitational lens systems, the light bending is usually dominated by one main galaxy but may be affected by other objects along the line of sight (LOS). Perturbers projected far from the lens can be approximated with convergence and shear, but perturbers projected closer to the lens create higher-order effects and need to be treated individually. We present a theoretical framework for multi-plane lensing that can handle an arbitrary combination of planes with shear/convergence and planes with higher-order terms. We test our framework first using simulations with a single perturber to study where the shear approximation is not valid and where non-linear effects are important. We show that perturbers behind the lens galaxy can be treated as an effective shear in the main lens plane, but perturbers in front of the lens cannot be mimicked by such a shear. Applying this to realistic fields, we find that our LOS framework can reproduce the fitted lens properties and the Hubble Constant, H0, without bias and with scatter that is smaller than typical measurement uncertainties.

We propose and perform a new test of the cosmic distance-duality relation (CDDR), DL(z) / DA(z) (1 + z)2 = 1, where DA is the angular diameter distance and DL is the luminosity distance to a given source at redshift z, using strong gravitationallensing (SGL) and type Ia Supernovae (SNe Ia) data. We show that the ratio D=DA12/DA2 and D*=DL12/DL2, where the subscripts 1 and 2 correspond, respectively, to redshifts z1 and z2, are linked by D/D*=(1+z1)2 if the CDDR is valid. We allow departures from the CDDR by defining two functions for η(z1), which equals unity when the CDDR is valid. We find that combination of SGL and SNe Ia data favours no violation of the CDDR at 1σ confidence level (η(z) simeq 1), in complete agreement with other tests and reinforcing the theoretical pillars of the CDDR.

In the past decade, our understanding of galaxy evolution has been revolutionized by the discovery that luminous, dusty starburst galaxies were 1,000 times more abundant in the early Universe than at present. It has, however, been difficult to measure the complete redshift distribution of these objects, especially at the highest redshifts (z > 4). Here we report a redshift survey at a wavelength of three millimetres, targeting carbon monoxide line emission from the star-forming molecular gas in the direction of extraordinarily bright millimetre-wave-selected sources. High-resolution imaging demonstrates that these sources are strongly gravitationallylensed by foreground galaxies. We detect spectral lines in 23 out of 26 sources and multiple lines in 12 of those 23 sources, from which we obtain robust, unambiguous redshifts. At least 10 of the sources are found to lie at z > 4, indicating that the fraction of dusty starburst galaxies at high redshifts is greater than previously thought. Models of lens geometries in the sample indicate that the background objects are ultra-luminous infrared galaxies, powered by extreme bursts of star formation.

We present the temperature power spectra of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) derived from the three seasons of data from the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) at 148 GHz and 218 GHz, as well as the cross-frequency spectrum between the two channels. We detect and correct for contamination due to the Galactic cirrus in our equatorial maps. We present the results of a number of tests for possible systematic error and conclude that any effects are not significant compared to the statistical errors we quote. Where they overlap, we cross-correlate the ACT and the South Pole Telescope (SPT) maps and show they are consistent. The measurements of higher-order peaks in the CMB power spectrum provide an additional test of the ?CDM cosmological model, and help constrain extensions beyond the standard model. The small angular scale power spectrum also provides constraining power on the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effects and extragalactic foregrounds. We also present a measurement of the CMB gravitationallensing convergence power spectrum at 4.6s detection significance.

The galaxy intrinsic alignment is a severe challenge to precision cosmic shear measurement. We propose self-calibrating the induced gravitational shear-galaxy intrinsic ellipticity correlation (the GI correlation) in weak lensing surveys with photometric redshift measurements. (1) We propose a method to extract the intrinsic ellipticity-galaxy density cross-correlation (I-g) from the galaxy ellipticity-density measurement in the same redshift bin. (2) We also find a generic scaling relation to convert the extracted I-g correlation to the necessary GI correlation. We perform a concept study under simplified conditions and demonstrate its capability to significantly reduce GI contamination. We discuss the impact of various complexities on the two key ingredients of the self-calibration technique, namely the method for extracting the I-g correlation and the scaling relation between the I-g and the GI correlation. We expect that none of them will likely be able to completely invalidate the proposed self-calibration technique.

We present the temperature power spectra of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) derived from the three seasons of data from the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) at 148 GHz and 218 GHz, as well as the cross-frequency spectrum between the two channels. We detect and correct for contamination due to the Galactic cirrus in our equatorial maps. We present the results of a number of tests for possible systematic error and conclude that any effects are not significant compared to the statistical errors we quote. Where they overlap, we cross-correlate the ACT and the South Pole Telescope (SPT) maps and show they are consistent. The measurements of higher-order peaks in the CMB power spectrum provide an additional test of the ΛCDM cosmological model, and help constrain extensions beyond the standard model. The small angular scale power spectrum also provides constraining power on the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effects and extragalactic foregrounds. We also present a measurement of the CMB gravitationallensing convergence power spectrum at 4.6σ detection significance.

We propose and perform a new test of the cosmic distance-duality relation (CDDR), D{sub L}(z) / D{sub A}(z) (1 + z){sup 2} = 1, where D{sub A} is the angular diameter distance and D{sub L} is the luminosity distance to a given source at redshift z, using strong gravitationallensing (SGL) and type Ia Supernovae (SNe Ia) data. We show that the ratio D=D{sub A{sub 1{sub 2}}}/D{sub A{sub 2}} and D{sup *}=D{sub L{sub 1{sub 2}}}/D{sub L{sub 2}}, where the subscripts 1 and 2 correspond, respectively, to redshifts z{sub 1} and z{sub 2}, are linked by D/D{sup *}=(1+z{sub 1}){sup 2} if the CDDR is valid. We allow departures from the CDDR by defining two functions for η(z{sub 1}), which equals unity when the CDDR is valid. We find that combination of SGL and SNe Ia data favours no violation of the CDDR at 1σ confidence level (η(z) ≅ 1), in complete agreement with other tests and reinforcing the theoretical pillars of the CDDR.

We report the extraordinary {gamma}-ray activity (E > 100 MeV) of the gravitationallylensed blazar PKS 1830-211 (z = 2.507) detected by AGILE between 2010 October and November. On October 14, the source experienced a factor of {approx}12 flux increase with respect to its average value and remained brightest at this flux level ({approx}500 x 10{sup -8} photons cm{sup -2} s{sup -1}) for about four days. The one-month {gamma}-ray light curve across the flare showed a mean flux F(E > 100 MeV) = 200 x 10{sup -8} photons cm{sup -2} s{sup -1}, which resulted in a factor of four enhancement with respect to the average value. Following the {gamma}-ray flare, the source was observed in near-IR (NIR)-optical energy bands at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory and in X-Rays by Swift/X-Ray Telescope and INTEGRAL/IBIS. The main result of these multifrequency observations is that the large variability observed in {gamma}-rays does not have a significant counterpart at lower frequencies: no variation greater than a factor of {approx}1.5 appeared in the NIR and X-Ray energy bands. PKS 1830-211 is then a good '{gamma}-ray only flaring' blazar showing substantial variability only above 10-100 MeV. We discuss the theoretical implications of our findings.

Interstellar is the first Hollywood movie to attempt depicting a black hole as it would actually be seen by somebody nearby. For this, our team at Double Negative Visual Effects, in collaboration with physicist Kip Thorne, developed a code called Double Negative Gravitational Renderer (DNGR) to solve the equations for ray-bundle (light-beam) propagation through the curved spacetime of a spinning (Kerr) black hole, and to render IMAX-quality, rapidly changing images. Our ray-bundle techniques were crucial for achieving IMAX-quality smoothness without flickering; and they differ from physicists’ image-generation techniques (which generally rely on individual light rays rather than ray bundles), and also differ from techniques previously used in the film industry’s CGI community. This paper has four purposes: (i) to describe DNGR for physicists and CGI practitioners, who may find interesting and useful some of our unconventional techniques. (ii) To present the equations we use, when the camera is in arbitrary motion at an arbitrary location near a Kerr black hole, for mapping light sources to camera images via elliptical ray bundles. (iii) To describe new insights, from DNGR, into gravitationallensing when the camera is near the spinning black hole, rather than far away as in almost all prior studies; we focus on the shapes, sizes and influence of caustics and critical curves, the creation and annihilation of stellar images, the pattern of multiple images, and the influence of almost-trapped light rays, and we find similar results to the more familiar case of a camera far from the hole. (iv) To describe how the images of the black hole Gargantua and its accretion disk, in the movie Interstellar, were generated with DNGR—including, especially, the influences of (a) colour changes due to doppler and gravitational frequency shifts, (b) intensity changes due to the frequency shifts, (c) simulated camera lens flare, and (d) decisions that the film makers made about

We propose a method that will be able to detect or exclude the existence of 10 exp 6 solar masses black holes in the halos of galaxies. VLBA radio maps of two milliarcsecond jets of a gravitationallylensed quasar will show the signature of these black holes - if they exist. If there are no compact objects in this mass range along the line of sight, the two jets should be linear mappings of each other. If they are not, there must be compact objects of about 10 exp 6 solar masses in the halo of the galaxy that deform the images by gravitational deflection. We present numerical simulations for the two jets A and B of the double quasar 0957 + 561, but the method is valid for any gravitationallylensed quasar with structure on milliarcsecond scales. As a by-product from high-quality VLBA maps of jets A and B, one will be able to tell which features in the maps are intrinsic in the original jet and which are only an optical illusion, i.e., gravitational distortions by black holes along the line of sight.

The Cold Dark Matter (CDM) model of the universe predicts that there should be hundreds to thousands of clumps surrounding a massive galaxy. However, observations have shown that we only see dozens of dwarf galaxies and not the hundreds to thousands that are predicted. This means that either the CDM model prediction is wrong, or most of the substructure consists of dark matter that cannot be observed directly. Massive galaxies serve as natural gravitationallenses throughout the universe that allow us to indirectly observe these dark matter perturbations. Strong gravitationallensing occurs when these massive elliptical galaxies have the critical density required to bend light from a source located behind it and produce multiple images of that same source. Dark matter clumps located near these multiple images affect their positions and flux ratios. We used lensing simulations to quantify how dark matter clumps affect image properties and to characterize this zone of influence through color maps of chi-squared values. Our results showed regions around each of the image positions that display significant perturbations for low mass clumps. For higher mass clumps, however, these distinct regions bleed together. We found that there is a correlation between the mass of the dark matter clump and the area it perturbs.This research has been supported by NSF grant PHY-1263280.

We present a comprehensive analysis of the Gaia South Ecliptic Pole (GSEP) field, 5.3 square degrees area around the South Ecliptic Pole on the outskirts of the LMC, based on the data collected during the fourth phase of the Optical GravitationalLensing Experiment, OGLE-IV. The GSEP field will be observed during the commissioning phase of the ESA Gaia space mission for testing and calibrating the Gaia instruments. We provide the photometric maps of the GSEP region containing the mean VI photometry of all detected stellar objects and their equatorial coordinates. We show the quality and completeness of the OGLE-IV photometry and color-magnitude diagrams of this region. We conducted an extensive search for variable stars in the GSEP field leading to the discovery of 6789 variable stars. In this sample we found 132 classical Cepheids, 686 RR Lyr type stars, 2819 long-period, and 1377 eclipsing variables. Several objects deserving special attention were also selected, including a new classical Cepheid in a binary eclipsing system. To provide empirical data for the Gaia Science Alert system we also conducted a search for optical transients. We discovered two firm type Ia supernovae and nine additional supernova candidates. To facilitate future Gaia supernovae detections we prepared a list of more than 1900 galaxies to redshift about 0.1 located in the GSEP field. Finally, we present the results of astrometric study of the GSEP field. With the 26 months time base of the presented here OGLE-IV data, proper motions of stars could be detected with the accuracy reaching 2 mas/yr. Astrometry allowed to distinguish galactic foreground variable stars detected in the GSEP field from LMC objects and to discover about 50 high proper motion stars (proper motion ≥ 100 mas/yr). Among them three new nearby white dwarfs were found. All data presented in this paper are available to the astronomical community from the OGLE Internet archive.

We present cosmological parameter constraints from a tomographic weak gravitationallensing analysis of ∼450 deg2 of imaging data from the Kilo Degree Survey (KiDS). For a flat Λ cold dark matter (ΛCDM) cosmology with a prior on H0 that encompasses the most recent direct measurements, we find S_8≡ σ _8√{Ω _m/0.3}=0.745± 0.039. This result is in good agreement with other low-redshift probes of large-scale structure, including recent cosmic shear results, along with pre-Planck cosmic microwave background constraints. A 2.3σ tension in S8 and 'substantial discordance' in the full parameter space is found with respect to the Planck 2015 results. We use shear measurements for nearly 15 million galaxies, determined with a new improved 'self-calibrating' version of lensFIT validated using an extensive suite of image simulations. Four-band ugri photometric redshifts are calibrated directly with deep spectroscopic surveys. The redshift calibration is confirmed using two independent techniques based on angular cross-correlations and the properties of the photometric redshift probability distributions. Our covariance matrix is determined using an analytical approach, verified numerically with large mock galaxy catalogues. We account for uncertainties in the modelling of intrinsic galaxy alignments and the impact of baryon feedback on the shape of the non-linear matter power spectrum, in addition to the small residual uncertainties in the shear and redshift calibration. The cosmology analysis was performed blind. Our high-level data products, including shear correlation functions, covariance matrices, redshift distributions, and Monte Carlo Markov chains are available at http://kids.strw.leidenuniv.nl.

Using the Boolardy Engineering Test Array of the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP BETA), we have carried out the first z = 0-1 survey for H I and OH absorption towards the gravitationallylensed quasars PKS B1830-211 and MG J0414+0534. Although we detected all previously reported intervening systems towards PKS B1830-211, in the case of MG J0414+0534, three systems were not found, indicating that the original identifications may have been confused with radio frequency interference. Given the sensitivity of our data, we find that our detection yield is consistent with the expected frequency of intervening H I systems estimated from previous surveys for 21-cm emission in nearby galaxies and z ∼ 3 damped Lyman α absorbers. We find spectral variability in the z = 0.886 face-on spiral galaxy towards PKS B1830-211 from observations undertaken with the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope in 1997/1998 and ASKAP BETA in 2014/2015. The H I equivalent width varies by a few per cent over approximately yearly time-scales. This long-term spectral variability is correlated between the north-east and south-west images of the core, and with the total flux density of the source, implying that it is observationally coupled to intrinsic changes in the quasar. The absence of any detectable variability in the ratio of H I associated with the two core images is in stark contrast to the behaviour previously seen in the molecular lines. We therefore infer that coherent opaque H I structures in this galaxy are larger than the parsec-scale molecular clouds found at mm-wavelengths.

Weak gravitationallensing (WL) is one of the most powerful techniques to learn about the dark sector of the universe. To extract the WL signal from astronomical observations, galaxy shapes must be measured and corrected for the point-spread function (PSF) of the imaging system with extreme accuracy. Future WL missions—such as NASA’s Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST)—will use a family of hybrid near-infrared complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor detectors (HAWAII-4RG) that are untested for accurate WL measurements. Like all image sensors, these devices are subject to conversion gain nonlinearities (voltage response to collected photo-charge) that bias the shape and size of bright objects such as reference stars that are used in PSF determination. We study this type of detector nonlinearity (NL) and show how to derive requirements on it from WFIRST PSF size and ellipticity requirements. We simulate the PSF optical profiles expected for WFIRST and measure the fractional error in the PSF size (ΔR/R) and the absolute error in the PSF ellipticity (Δe) as a function of star magnitude and the NL model. For our nominal NL model (a quadratic correction), we find that, uncalibrated, NL can induce an error of ΔR/R = 1 × 10-2 and Δe 2 = 1.75 × 10-3 in the H158 bandpass for the brightest unsaturated stars in WFIRST. In addition, our simulations show that to limit the bias of ΔR/R and Δe in the H158 band to ˜10% of the estimated WFIRST error budget, the quadratic NL model parameter β must be calibrated to ˜1% and ˜2.4%, respectively. We present a fitting formula that can be used to estimate WFIRST detector NL requirements once a true PSF error budget is established.

Here, we present a measurement of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) gravitationallensing potential using data from the first two seasons of observations with SPTpol, the polarization-sensitive receiver currently installed on the South Pole Telescope. The observations used in this work cover 100 deg2 of sky with arcminute resolution at 150 GHz. Using a quadratic estimator, we make maps of the CMB lensing potential from combinations of CMB temperature and polarization maps. We combine these lensing potential maps to form a minimum-variance (MV) map. The lensing potential is measured with a signal-to-noise ratio of greater than one for angular multipoles betweenmore » $$100\\lt L\\lt 250$$. This is the highest signal-to-noise mass map made from the CMB to date and will be powerful in cross-correlation with other tracers of large-scale structure. We calculate the power spectrum of the lensing potential for each estimator, and we report the value of the MV power spectrum between $$100\\lt L\\lt 2000$$ as our primary result. We constrain the ratio of the spectrum to a fiducial ΛCDM model to be AMV = 0.92 ± 0.14 (Stat.) ± 0.08 (Sys.). Restricting ourselves to polarized data only, we find APOL = 0.92 ± 0.24 (Stat.) ± 0.11 (Sys.). This measurement rejects the hypothesis of no lensing at $$5.9\\sigma $$ using polarization data alone, and at $$14\\sigma $$ using both temperature and polarization data.« less

Here, we present a measurement of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) gravitationallensing potential using data from the first two seasons of observations with SPTpol, the polarization-sensitive receiver currently installed on the South Pole Telescope. The observations used in this work cover 100 deg2 of sky with arcminute resolution at 150 GHz. Using a quadratic estimator, we make maps of the CMB lensing potential from combinations of CMB temperature and polarization maps. We combine these lensing potential maps to form a minimum-variance (MV) map. The lensing potential is measured with a signal-to-noise ratio of greater than one for angular multipoles between $100\\lt L\\lt 250$. This is the highest signal-to-noise mass map made from the CMB to date and will be powerful in cross-correlation with other tracers of large-scale structure. We calculate the power spectrum of the lensing potential for each estimator, and we report the value of the MV power spectrum between $100\\lt L\\lt 2000$ as our primary result. We constrain the ratio of the spectrum to a fiducial ΛCDM model to be AMV = 0.92 ± 0.14 (Stat.) ± 0.08 (Sys.). Restricting ourselves to polarized data only, we find APOL = 0.92 ± 0.24 (Stat.) ± 0.11 (Sys.). This measurement rejects the hypothesis of no lensing at $5.9\\sigma $ using polarization data alone, and at $14\\sigma $ using both temperature and polarization data.

We present a measurement of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) gravitationallensing potential using data from the first two seasons of observations with SPTpol, the polarization-sensitive receiver currently installed on the South Pole Telescope. The observations used in this work cover 100 deg(2) of sky with arcminute resolution at 150 GHz. Using a quadratic estimator, we make maps of the CMB lensing potential from combinations of CMB temperature and polarization maps. We combine these lensing potential maps to form a minimum-variance (MV) map. The lensing potential is measured with a signal-to-noise ratio of greater than one for angular multipoles between $100\\lt L\\lt 250$. This is the highest signal-to-noise mass map made from the CMB to date and will be powerful in cross-correlation with other tracers of large-scale structure. We calculate the power spectrum of the lensing potential for each estimator, and we report the value of the MV power spectrum between $100\\lt L\\lt 2000$ as our primary result. We constrain the ratio of the spectrum to a fiducial ΛCDM model to be A(MV) = 0.92 ± 0.14 (Stat.) ± 0.08 (Sys.). Restricting ourselves to polarized data only, we find A(POL) = 0.92 ± 0.24 (Stat.) ± 0.11 (Sys.). This measurement rejects the hypothesis of no lensing at $5.9\\sigma $ using polarization data alone, and at $14\\sigma $ using both temperature and polarization data.

With a redshift of 2.3, the IRAS source FSC 10214+4724 is apparently one of the most luminous objects known in the universe. We present an image of FSC 10214+4724 at 0.8 pm obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) WFPC2 Planetary Camera. The source appears as an unresolved (less then 0.06) arc 0.7 long, with significant substructure along its length. The center of curvature of the arc is located near an elliptical galaxy 1.18 to the north. An unresolved component 100 times fainter than the arc is clearly detected on the opposite side of this galaxy. The most straightforward interpretation is that FSC 10214+4724 is gravitationallylensed by the foreground elliptical galaxy, with the faint component a counter-image of the IRAS source. The brightness of the arc in the HST image is then magnified by approx. 100, and the intrinsic source diameter is approx. 0.0l (80 pc) at 0.25 microns rest wavelength. The bolometric luminosity is probably amplified by a smaller factor (approx. 30) as a result of the larger extent expected for the source in the far-infrared. A detailed lensing model is presented that reproduces the observed morphology and relative flux of the arc and counterimage and correctly predicts the position angle of the lensing galaxy. The model also predicts reasonable values for the velocity dispersion, mass, and mass-to-light ratio of the lensing galaxy for a wide range of galaxy redshifts. A redshift for the lensing galaxy of -0.9 is consistent with the measured surface brightness profile from the image, as well as with the galaxy's spectral energy distribution. The background lensed source has an intrinsic luminosity approx. 2 x 10(exp 13) L(solar mass) and remains a highly luminous quasar with an extremely large ratio of infrared to optical/ultraviolet luminosity.

Clusters of galaxies are expected to gravitationally lens the cosmic microwave background (CMB) and thereby generate a distinct signal in the CMB on arcminute scales. Measurements of this effect can be used to constrain the masses of galaxy clusters with CMB data alone. Here we present a measurement of lensing of the CMB by galaxy clusters using data from the South Pole Telescope (SPT). We also develop a maximum likelihood approach to extract the CMB cluster lensing signal and validate the method on mock data. We quantify the effects on our analysis of several potential sources of systematic error andmore » find that they generally act to reduce the best-fit cluster mass. It is estimated that this bias to lower cluster mass is roughly 0.85σ in units of the statistical error bar, although this estimate should be viewed as an upper limit. Furthermore, we apply our maximum likelihood technique to 513 clusters selected via their Sunyaev–Zeldovich (SZ) signatures in SPT data, and rule out the null hypothesis of no lensing at 3.1σ. The lensing-derived mass estimate for the full cluster sample is consistent with that inferred from the SZ flux: M200,lens = 0.83+0.38-0.37 M200,SZ (68% C.L., statistical error only).« less

Clusters of galaxies are expected to gravitationally lens the cosmic microwave background (CMB) and thereby generate a distinct signal in the CMB on arcminute scales. Measurements of this effect can be used to constrain the masses of galaxy clusters with CMB data alone. Here we present a measurement of lensing of the CMB by galaxy clusters using data from the South Pole Telescope (SPT). We also develop a maximum likelihood approach to extract the CMB cluster lensing signal and validate the method on mock data. We quantify the effects on our analysis of several potential sources of systematic error and find that they generally act to reduce the best-fit cluster mass. It is estimated that this bias to lower cluster mass is roughly 0.85σ in units of the statistical error bar, although this estimate should be viewed as an upper limit. Furthermore, we apply our maximum likelihood technique to 513 clusters selected via their Sunyaev–Zeldovich (SZ) signatures in SPT data, and rule out the null hypothesis of no lensing at 3.1σ. The lensing-derived mass estimate for the full cluster sample is consistent with that inferred from the SZ flux: M200,lens = 0.83+0.38-0.37 M200,SZ (68% C.L., statistical error only).

We present RINGFINDER, a tool for finding galaxy-scale strong gravitationallenses in multi-band imaging data. By construction, the method is sensitive to configurations involving a massive foreground ETG and a faint, background, blue source. RINGFINDER detects the presence of blue residuals embedded in an otherwise smooth red light distribution by difference imaging in two bands. The method is automated for efficient application to current and future surveys, having originally been designed for the 150 deg{sup 2} Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope Legacy Survey (CFHTLS). We describe each of the steps of RINGFINDER. We then carry out extensive simulations to assess completeness and purity. For sources with magnification μ > 4, RINGFINDER reaches 42% (25%) completeness and 29% (86%) purity before (after) visual inspection. The completeness of RINGFINDER is substantially improved in the particular range of Einstein radii 0.''8 ≤ R {sub Ein} ≤ 2.''0 and lensed images brighter than g = 22.5, where it can be as high as ∼70%. RINGFINDER does not introduce any significant bias in the source or deflector population. We conclude by presenting the final catalog of RINGFINDER CFHTLS galaxy-scale strong lens candidates. Additional information obtained with Hubble Space Telescope and Keck adaptive optics high-resolution imaging, and with Keck and Very Large Telescope spectroscopy, is used to assess the validity of our classification and measure the redshift of the foreground and the background objects. From an initial sample of 640,000 ETGs, RINGFINDER returns 2500 candidates, which we further reduce by visual inspection to 330 candidates. We confirm 33 new gravitationallenses from the main sample of candidates, plus an additional 16 systems taken from earlier versions of RINGFINDER. First applications are presented in the Strong Lensing Legacy Survey galaxy-scale lens sample paper series.

We present RINGFINDER, a tool for finding galaxy-scale strong gravitationallenses in multi-band imaging data. By construction, the method is sensitive to configurations involving a massive foreground ETG and a faint, background, blue source. RINGFINDER detects the presence of blue residuals embedded in an otherwise smooth red light distribution by difference imaging in two bands. The method is automated for efficient application to current and future surveys, having originally been designed for the 150 deg2 Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope Legacy Survey (CFHTLS). We describe each of the steps of RINGFINDER. We then carry out extensive simulations to assess completeness and purity. For sources with magnification μ > 4, RINGFINDER reaches 42% (25%) completeness and 29% (86%) purity before (after) visual inspection. The completeness of RINGFINDER is substantially improved in the particular range of Einstein radii 0.''8 <= R Ein <= 2.''0 and lensed images brighter than g = 22.5, where it can be as high as ~70%. RINGFINDER does not introduce any significant bias in the source or deflector population. We conclude by presenting the final catalog of RINGFINDER CFHTLS galaxy-scale strong lens candidates. Additional information obtained with Hubble Space Telescope and Keck adaptive optics high-resolution imaging, and with Keck and Very Large Telescope spectroscopy, is used to assess the validity of our classification and measure the redshift of the foreground and the background objects. From an initial sample of 640,000 ETGs, RINGFINDER returns 2500 candidates, which we further reduce by visual inspection to 330 candidates. We confirm 33 new gravitationallenses from the main sample of candidates, plus an additional 16 systems taken from earlier versions of RINGFINDER. First applications are presented in the Strong Lensing Legacy Survey galaxy-scale lens sample paper series.

Gravitationallensing can provide pure geometric tests of the structure of spacetime, for instance by determining empirically the angular diameter distance-redshift relation. This geometric test has been demonstrated several times using massive clusters which produce a large lensing signal. In this case, matter at a single redshift dominates the lensing signal, so the analysis is straightforward. It is less clear how weaker signals from multiple sources at different redshifts can be stacked to demonstrate the geometric dependence. We introduce a simple measure of relative shear which for flat cosmologies separates the effect of lens and source positions into multiplicative terms, allowing signals from many different source-lens pairs to be combined. Applying this technique to a sample of groups and low-mass clusters in the COSMOS survey, we detect a clear variation of shear with distance behind the lens. This represents the first detection of the geometric effect using weak lensing by multiple, low-mass groups. The variation of distance with redshift is measured with sufficient precision to constrain the equation of state of the universe under the assumption of flatness, equivalent to a detection of a dark energy component {Omega}{sub X} at greater than 99% confidence for an equation-of-state parameter -2.5 {<=} w {<=} -0.1. For the case w = -1, we find a value for the cosmological constant density parameter {Omega}{sub {Lambda}} = 0.85{sup +0.044}{sub -}0{sub .19} (68% CL) and detect cosmic acceleration (q{sub 0} < 0) at the 98% CL. We consider the systematic uncertainties associated with this technique and discuss the prospects for applying it in forthcoming weak-lensing surveys.

With a large, unique spectroscopic survey in the fields of 28 galaxy-scale strong gravitationallenses, we identify groups of galaxies in the 26 adequately sampled fields. Using a group-finding algorithm, we find 210 groups with at least 5 member galaxies; the median number of members is 8. Our sample spans redshifts of 0.04 ≤ z grp ≤ 0.76 with a median of 0.31, including 174 groups with 0.1 < z grp < 0.6. The groups have radial velocity dispersions of 60 ≤ σ grp ≤ 1200 km s-1 with a median of 350 km s-1. We also discover a supergroup in field B0712+472 at z = 0.29 that consists of three main groups. We recover groups similar to ˜85% of those previously reported in these fields within our redshift range of sensitivity and find 187 new groups with at least five members. The properties of our group catalog, specifically, (1) the distribution of σ grp, (2) the fraction of all sample galaxies that are group members, and (3) the fraction of groups with significant substructure, are consistent with those for other catalogs. The distribution of group virial masses agrees well with theoretical expectations. Of the lens galaxies, 12 of 26 (46%) (B1422+231, B1600+434, B2114+022, FBQS J0951+2635, HE0435-1223, HST J14113+5211, MG0751+2716, MGJ1654+1346, PG 1115+080, Q ER 0047-2808, RXJ1131-1231, and WFI J2033-4723) are members of groups with at least five galaxies, and one more (B0712+472) belongs to an additional, visually identified group candidate. There are groups not associated with the lens that still are likely to affect the lens model; in six of 25 (24%) fields (excluding the supergroup), there is at least one massive (σ grp ≥ 500 km s-1) group or group candidate projected within 2‧ of the lens.

Context. The Einstein radius of a gravitational lens is a key characteristic. It encodes information about decisive quantities such as halo mass, concentration, triaxiality, and orientation with respect to the observer. Therefore, the largest Einstein radii can potentially be utilised to test the predictions of the ΛCDM model. Aims: Hitherto, studies have focussed on the single largest observed Einstein radius. We extend those studies by employing order statistics to formulate exclusion criteria based on the n largest Einstein radii and apply these criteria to the strong lensing analysis of 12 MACS clusters at z> 0.5. Methods: We obtain the order statistics of Einstein radii by a Monte Carlo approach, based on the semi-analytic modelling of the halo population on the past lightcone. After sampling the order statistics, we fit a general extreme value distribution to the first-order distribution, which allows us to derive analytic relations for the order statistics of the Einstein radii. Results: We find that the Einstein radii of the 12 MACS clusters are not in conflict with the ΛCDM expectations. Our exclusion criteria indicate that, in order to exhibit tension with the concordance model, one would need to observe approximately twenty Einstein radii with θeff ≳ 30″, ten with θeff ≳ 35″, five with θeff ≳ 42″, or one with θeff ≳ 74″ in the redshift range 0.5 ≤ z ≤ 1.0 on the full sky (assuming a source redshift of zs = 2). Furthermore, we find that, with increasing order, the haloes with the largest Einstein radii are on average less aligned along the line-of-sight and less triaxial. In general, the cumulative distribution functions steepen for higher orders, giving them better constraining power. Conclusions: A framework that allows the individual and joint order distributions of the n-largest Einstein radii to be derived is presented. From a statistical point of view, we do not see any evidence of an Einstein ring problem even for the

A novel interferometric technique that uses the spectrum of the current fluctuations of a quadratic detector, a type of detector commonly used in Astronomy, has recently been introduced. It has major advantages with respect to classical interferometry. It can be used to observe gravitationallenses that cannot be detected with standard techniques. It can be used to carry out very long baseline interferometry. Although the original theoretical analysis, that uses wave interaction effects, is rigorous, it is not easy to understand. The present article therefore carries out a simpler analysis, using the autocorrelation of intensity fluctuations, which is easier to understand. It is based on published experiments that were carried out to validate the original theory. The autocorrelation analysis also validates simple numerical techniques, based on the autocorrelation, to model the angular intensity distribution of a source. The autocorrelation technique also allows a much simpler detection of the signal. In practice, the gravitational lens applications are the ones that can readily be done with presently available telescopes. We describe a practical example that shows that presently available VLBI radio-astronomical data can be used to observe microlensisng and millilensing in macrolensed Quasars. They may give information on the dark matter substructures in the lensing galaxies.

Neutral hydrogen (Hi) provides a very important fuel for star formation, but is difficult to detect at high redshift due to weak emission, limited sensitivity of modern instruments, and terrestrial radio frequency interference (RFI) at low frequencies. We report the first attempt to use gravitationallensing to detect Hi line emission from three gravitationallylensed galaxies behind the cluster Abell 773, two at redshifts of 0.398 and one at z = 0.487, using the Green Bank Telescope. We find that a 3σ upper limit for a galaxy with a rotation velocity of 200 km s-1 is M H i = 6.58 × 109 and 1.5 × 1010 M ⊙ at z = 0.398 and z = 0.487. The estimated Hi masses of the sources at z = 0.398 and z = 0.487 are factors of 3.7 and ˜30 times lower than our detection limits at the respective redshifts. To facilitate these observations we have used sigma-clipping to remove both narrow- and wideband RFI but retain the signal from the source. We are able to reduce the noise of the spectrum by ˜25% using our routine instead of discarding observations with too much RFI. The routine is most effective when ˜10% of the integrations or fewer contain RFI. These techniques can be used to study Hi in highly magnified distant galaxies that are otherwise too faint to detect.

Application of the most robust method of measuring black hole masses, spatially resolved kinematics of gas and stars, is presently limited to nearby galaxies. The Atacama Large Millimeter/sub-millimeter Array (ALMA) and 30m class telescopes (the Thirty Meter Telescope, the Giant Magellan Telescope, and the European Extremely Large Telescope) with milli-arcsecond resolution are expected to extend such measurements to larger distances. Here, we study the possibility of exploiting the angular magnification provided by strong gravitationallensing to measure black hole masses at high redshifts (z ∼ 1-6), using resolved gas kinematics with these instruments. We show that in ∼15% and ∼20% of strongly lensed galaxies, the inner 25 and 50 pc could be resolved, allowing the mass of ≳ 10{sup 8} M {sub ☉} black holes to be dynamically measured with ALMA, if moderately bright molecular gas is present at these small radii. Given the large number of strong lenses discovered in current millimeter surveys and future optical surveys, this fraction could constitute a statistically significant population for studying the evolution of the M-σ relation at high redshifts.

We report the discovery of two doubly-imaged quasars, SDSS J100128.61+502756.9 and SDSS J120629.65+433217.6, at redshifts of 1.838 and 1.789 and with image separations of 2.86'' and 2.90'', respectively. The objects were selected as lens candidates from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). Based on the identical nature of the spectra of the two quasars in each pair and the identification of the lens galaxies, we conclude that the objects are gravitationallenses. The lenses are complicated; in both systems there are several galaxies in the fields very close to the quasars, in addition to the lens galaxies themselves. The lens modeling implies that these nearby galaxies contribute significantly to the lens potentials. On larger scales, we have detected an enhancement in the galaxy density near SDSS J100128.61+502756.9. The number of lenses with image separation of {approx} 3'' in the SDSS already exceeds the prediction of simple theoretical models based on the standard Lambda-dominated cosmology and observed velocity function of galaxies.

Binary black holes have been in the limelight of late due to the detection of gravitational waves from coalescing compact binaries in the events GW150914 and GW151226. In this paper we study gravitationallensing by the binary black holes modeled as an equal mass Majumdar-Papapetrou dihole metric and show that this system displays features that are quite unprecedented and absent in any other lensing configuration investigated so far in the literature. We restrict our attention to the light rays which move on the plane midway between the two identical black holes, which allows us to employ various techniques developed for the equatorial lensing in the spherically symmetric spacetimes. If distance between the two black holes is below a certain threshold value, then the system admits two photon spheres. As in the case of a single black hole, infinitely many relativistic images are formed due to the light rays which turn back from the region outside the outer (unstable) photon sphere, all of which lie beyond a critical angular radius with respect to the lens. However, in the presence of the inner (stable) photon sphere, the effective potential after admitting minimum turns upwards and blows up for the smaller values of radii and the light rays that enter the outer photon sphere can turn back, leading to the formation of a new set of infinitely many relativistic images, all of which lie below the critical radius from the lens mentioned above. As the distance between the two black holes is increased, two photon spheres approach one another, merge and eventually disappear. In the absence of the photon sphere, apart from the formation of a finite number of discrete relativistic images, the system remarkably admits a radial caustic, which has never been observed in the context of relativistic lensing before. Thus the system of the binary black hole admits novel features both in the presence and absence of photon spheres. We discuss possible observational signatures and

Quiescent massive galaxies at z ∼ 2 are thought to be the progenitors of present-day massive ellipticals. Observations revealed them to be extraordinarily compact. Until now, the determination of stellar ages, star formation rates, and dust properties via spectroscopic measurements has been feasible only for the most luminous and massive specimens (∼3 × M*). Here we present a spectroscopic study of two near-infrared-selected galaxies that are close to the characteristic stellar mass M* (∼0.9 × M* and ∼1.3 × M*) and whose observed brightness has been boosted by the gravitationallensing effect. We measure the redshifts of the two galaxies to be z = 1.71 ± 0.02 and z = 2.15 ± 0.01. By fitting stellar population synthesis models to their spectrophotometric spectral energy distributions we determine their ages to be 2.4{sup +0.8}{sub -0.6} Gyr and 1.7 ± 0.3 Gyr, respectively, which implies that the two galaxies have higher mass-to-light ratios than most quiescent z ∼ 2 galaxies in other studies. We find no direct evidence for active star formation or active galactic nucleus activity in either of the two galaxies, based on the non-detection of emission lines. Based on the derived redshifts and stellar ages we estimate the formation redshifts to be z=4.3{sup +3.4}{sub -1.2} and z=4.3{sup +1.0}{sub -0.6}, respectively. We use the increased spatial resolution due to the gravitationallensing to derive constraints on the morphology. Fitting Sérsic profiles to the de-lensed images of the two galaxies confirms their compactness, with one of them being spheroid-like and the other providing the first confirmation of a passive lenticular galaxy at a spectroscopically derived redshift of z ∼ 2.

We investigate the influence of the matter along the line of sight and in the lens environment on the image configurations, relative time delays, and the resulting models of strong gravitationallensing. The distribution of matter in space and properties of gravitationally bound haloes are based on the Millennium Simulation. In our numerical experiments we consider isolated lens in a uniform universe model and the same lens surrounded by close neighbours and/or objects close to the line of sight which gives four different descriptions of the light propagation. We compare the results of the lens modelling which neglects effects of the environment and line of sight, when applied to image configurations resulting from approaches partially or fully taking into account these effects. We show that for a source at the redshift z ≈ 2 the effects are indeed important and may prevent successful fitting of lens models in a substantial part of simulated image configurations, especially when the relative time delays are taken into account. To have good constraints on the models we limit ourselves to configurations of four images. We consider 80 lenses and large number of source positions in each case. The influence of the lens neighbourhood and the line of sight introduces the spread into the fitted values of the deflection angles which translates into the spread in the lens velocity dispersion of ˜4 per cent. Similarly for the lens axis ratio we get the spread of ˜10 per cent and for the Hubble's constant of ˜6 per cent. When averaged over all lenses and all image configurations considered, the median fitted values of the parameters (including the Hubble's constant) do not differ more than 1 per cent from their values used in simulations.

Aims: Within the framework of the COSMOGRAIL collaboration we present 7- and 8.5-year-long light curves and time-delay estimates for two gravitationallylensed quasars: SDSS J1206+4332 and HS 2209+1914. Methods: We monitored these doubly lensed quasars in the R-band using four telescopes: the Mercator, Maidanak, Himalayan Chandra, and Euler telescopes, together spanning a period of 7 to 8.5 observing seasons from mid-2004 to mid-2011. The photometry of the quasar images was obtained through simultaneous deconvolution of these data. The time delays were determined from these resulting light curves using four very different techniques: a dispersion method, a spline fit, a regression difference technique, and a numerical model fit. This minimizes the bias that might be introduced by the use of a single method. Results: The time delay for SDSS J1206+4332 is ΔtAB = 111.3 ± 3 days with A leading B, confirming a previously published result within the error bars. For HS 2209+1914 we present a new time delay of ΔtBA = 20.0 ± 5 days with B leading A. Conclusions: The combination of data from up to four telescopes have led to well-sampled and nearly 9-season-long light curves, which were necessary to obtain these results, especially for the compact doubly lensed quasar HS 2209+1914. Based on observations made with the 1.2-m Swiss Euler telescope (La Silla, Chile), the 1.5-m AZT-22 telescope (Maidanak Observatory, Uzbekistan), the 2.0-m HCT telescope (Hanle, India), and the 1.2-m Mercator Telescope. Mercator is operated on the island of La Palma by the Flemish Community, at the Spanish Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos of the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias.Numerical values of light curves are only available at the CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (ftp://130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/qcat?J/A+A/553/A121 and at http://www.cosmograil.org

A simple method for deriving well-behaved temperature solutions to the equation of hydrostatic equilibrium for intracluster media with X-ray imaging observations is presented and applied to a series of generalized models as well as to observations of the Perseus cluster and Abell 2256. In these applications the allowed range in the ratio of nonbaryons to baryons as a function of radius is derived, taking into account the uncertainties and crude spatial resolution of the X-ray spectra and considering a range of physically reasonable mass models with various scale heights. Particular attention is paid to the central regions of the cluster, and it is found that the dark matter can be sufficiently concentrated to be consistent with the high central mass surface densities for moderate-redshift clusters from their gravitationallensing properties.

We present 11.2 {mu}m observations of the gravitationallylensed, radio-loud z{sub s} = 2.64 quasar MG0414+0534, obtained using the Michelle camera on Gemini North. We find a flux ratio anomaly of A2/A1 = 0.93 {+-} 0.02 for the quasar images A1 and A2. When combined with the 11.7 {mu}m measurements from Minezaki et al., the A2/A1 flux ratio is nearly 5{sigma} from the expected ratio for a model based on the two visible lens galaxies. The mid-IR flux ratio anomaly can be explained by a satellite (substructure), 0.''3 northeast of image A2, as can the detailed very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) structures of the jet produced by the quasar. When we combine the mid-IR flux ratios with high-resolution VLBI measurements, we find a best-fit mass between 10{sup 6.2} and 10{sup 7.5} M{sub Sun} inside the Einstein radius for a satellite substructure modeled as a singular isothermal sphere at the redshift of the main lens (z{sub l} = 0.96). We are unable to set an interesting limit on the mass to light ratio due to its proximity to the quasar image A2. While the observations used here were technically difficult, surveys of flux anomalies in gravitationallenses with the James Webb Space Telescope will be simple, fast, and should well constrain the abundance of substructure in dark matter halos.

HI provides an important fuel for star formation, a good indicator of galactic environment, and more accurate information on mass, size, and velocity. Studies of Neutral Hydrogen (HI) in individual galaxies beyond z=0.25 have been limited by current technology. Most available telescopes do not have the frequency coverage, or sensitivity to detect the weak HI signal in a reasonable integration time. My thesis concentrates on pushing the limits on currently available telescopes to detect HI in individual sources out to higher redshifts. The COSMOS HI Large Extragalactic Survey (CHILES) team has pointed the JVLA toward the COSMOS field in a blind search of HI out to z=0.45. I am planning to use the data to study the HI properties of Luminous Compact Blue Galaxies, a heterogenous class of galaxies with high star formation rates, and metallicity amongst an older stellar population. These objects are numerous have a star formation rate density roughly equal to grand-design spiral galaxies at z~1, but become rare at z=0. A number of local LCBGs have been studied to determine HI, H2, and dynamical mass, and gas depletion timescales, and with the information provided from CHILES I can compare the properties of local LCBGs to intermediate redshift LCBGs. In preparation for final data products, I have generated a Luminosity function for LCBGs in the COSMOS field to track the evolution of their number density, star formation rate density, and how much they contribute to the overall luminosity function. I have also attempted to detect HI in gravitationallylensed galaxies using the Green Bank Telescope. The magnification provided by strong gravitationallensing should allow us to determine the HI mass of a small number of galaxies out to z~0.8 and beyond.

We present Hubble Space Telescope (HST) imaging and spectroscopy of the gravitational lens SL2SJ02176-0513, a cusp arc at z = 1.847. The UV continuum of the lensed galaxy is very blue, which is seemingly at odds with its redder optical colors. The 3D-HST WFC3/G141 near-infrared spectrum of the lens reveals the source of this discrepancy to be extremely strong [O III] {lambda}5007 and H{beta} emission lines with rest-frame equivalent widths of 2000 {+-} 100 and 520 {+-} 40 A, respectively. The source has a stellar mass {approx}10{sup 8} M{sub Sun }, sSFR {approx} 100 Gyr{sup -1}, and detection of [O III] {lambda}4363 yields a metallicity of 12 + log (O/H) = 7.5 {+-} 0.2. We identify local blue compact dwarf analogs to SL2SJ02176-0513, which are among the most metal-poor galaxies in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. The local analogs resemble the lensed galaxy in many ways, including UV/optical spectral energy distribution, spatial morphology, and emission line equivalent widths and ratios. Common to SL2SJ02176-0513 and its local counterparts is an upturn at mid-IR wavelengths likely arising from hot dust heated by starbursts. The emission lines of SL2SJ02176-0513 are spatially resolved owing to the combination of the lens and the high spatial resolution of HST. The lensed galaxy is composed of two clumps with combined size r{sub e} {approx}300 pc, and we resolve significant differences in UV color and emission line equivalent width between them. Though it has characteristics occasionally attributed to active galactic nuclei, we conclude that SL2SJ02176-0513 is a low-metallicity star-bursting dwarf galaxy. Such galaxies will be found in significant numbers in the full 3D-HST grism survey.

Over its long history, the Milky Way is expected to have accreted many dwarf galaxies. The debris from the destruction of most of these dwarf galaxies will by now be fully phase-mixed throughout the Galaxy and hence undetectable as local over-densities in position-space. However, the debris from these systems could have distinct kinematic signatures that may help distinguish these stars from, for example, the Galactic disk. We aim to construct a reliable method of determining the contributions to the Milky Way disk from accreted structures that could be applied to current kinematic data sets, such as SDSS's APOGEE survey. In an effort to mimic the kinematic traits of an accreted satellite, we construct single-orbit models to compare to a cosmologically motivated simulation of satellite accretion. We find that these orbit models adhere to the kinematic signatures of certain types of accreted galaxies better than others, giving us insight on which parameters to trust when searching for accreted populations. As a bonus, we describe a separate project in which we attempt to deduce the intrinsic properties of the 8 o'clock arc, a gravitationallylensed Lyman break galaxy at redshift 2.73. Using the lensmodel code and its pixel-based source reconstruction extension pixsrc, we derive a de-lensed image of the galaxy in the source plane.

We use current theoretical estimates for the density of long cosmic strings to predict the number of strong gravitationallensing events in astronomical imaging surveys as a function of angular resolution and survey area. We show that angular resolution is the single most important factor, and that interesting limits on the dimensionless string tension G{mu}/c{sup 2} can be obtained by existing and planned surveys. At the resolution of the Hubble Space Telescope (0'.14), it is sufficient to survey of order a square degree -- well within reach of the current HST archive -- to probe the regime G{mu}/c{sup 2} {approx} 10{sup -8}. If lensing by cosmic strings is not detected, such a survey would improve the limit on the string tension by an order of magnitude on that available from the cosmic microwave background. At the resolution (0'.028) attainable with the next generation of large ground based instruments, both in the radio and the infra-red with adaptive optics, surveying a sky area of order ten square degrees will allow us to probe the G{mu}/c{sup 2} {approx} 10{sup -9} regime. These limits will not be improved significantly by increasing the solid angle of the survey.

We present a data set of images of the gravitationallylensed quasar Q2237+0305, that was obtained at the Apache Point Observatory (APO) between June 1995 and January 1998. Although the images were taken under variable, often poor seeing conditions and with coarse pixel sampling, photometry is possible for the two brighter quasar images A and B with the help of exact quasar image positions from HST observations. We obtain a light curve with 73 data points for each of the images A and B. There is evidence for a long (ga 100 day) brightness peak in image A in 1996 with an amplitude of about 0.4 to 0.5 mag (relative to 1995), which indicates that microlensing has been taking place in the lensing galaxy. Image B does not vary much over the course of the observation period. The long, smooth variation of the light curve is similar to the results from the OGLE monitoring of the system (Woźniak et al. \\cite{Wozniak00}). Based on observations obtained with the Apache Point Observatory 3.5-meter telescope, which is owned and operated by the Astrophysical Research Consortium.

We present results of a gravitationallensing and optical study of MACS J1423.8+2404 (z = 0.545, MACS J1423), the most relaxed cluster in the high-redshift subsample of clusters discovered in the MAssive Cluster Survey (MACS). Our analysis uses high-resolution images taken with the Hubble Space Telescope in the F555W and F814W passbands, ground-based imaging in eight optical and near-infrared filters obtained with Subaru and Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope, as well as extensive spectroscopic data gathered with the Keck telescopes. At optical wavelengths, the cluster exhibits no sign of substructure and is dominated by a cD galaxy that is 2.1 mag (K band) brighter than the second brightest cluster member, suggesting that MACS J1423 is close to be fully virialized. Analysis of the redshift distribution of 140 cluster members reveals a Gaussian distribution, mildly disturbed by the presence of a loose galaxy group that may be falling into the cluster along the line of sight. Combining strong-lensing constraints from two spectroscopically confirmed multiple-image systems near the cluster core with a weak-lensing measurement of the gravitational shear on larger scales, we derive a parametric mass model for the mass distribution. All constraints can be satisfied by a unimodal mass distribution centred on the cD galaxy and exhibiting very little substructure. The derived projected mass of M[< 65 arcsec (415kpc)] = (4.3 +/- 0.6) × 1014 Msolar is about 30 per cent higher than the one derived from X-ray analyses assuming spherical symmetry, suggesting a slightly prolate mass distribution consistent with the optical indication of residual line-of-sight structure. The similarity in shape and excellent alignment of the centroids of the total mass, K-band light and intracluster gas distributions add to the picture of a highly evolved system. The existence of a massive cluster like MACS J1423, nearly fully virialized only ~7 Gyr after the big bang, may have important implications

We report on the detailed analysis of a gravitationallylensed Y-band dropout, A2744_YD4, selected from deep Hubble Space Telescope imaging in the Frontier Field cluster Abell 2744. Band 7 observations with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) indicate the proximate detection of a significant 1 mm continuum flux suggesting the presence of dust for a star-forming galaxy with a photometric redshift of z≃ 8. Deep X-SHOOTER spectra confirms the high-redshift identity of A2744_YD4 via the detection of Lyα emission at a redshift z = 8.38. The association with the ALMA detection is confirmed by the presence of [O iii] 88 μm emission at the same redshift. Although both emission features are only significant at the 4σ level, we argue their joint detection and the positional coincidence with a high-redshift dropout in the Hubble Space Telescope images confirms the physical association. Analysis of the available photometric data and the modest gravitational magnification (μ ≃ 2) indicates A2744_YD4 has a stellar mass of ∼2 × 109 {M}ȯ , a star formation rate of ∼20 {M}ȯ yr‑1 and a dust mass of ∼6 × 106 {M}ȯ . We discuss the implications of the formation of such a dust mass only ≃ 200 {Myr} after the onset of cosmic reionization.

An explanation of the quantum-mechanical particle-wave duality is given by the watt-less emission of gravitational waves from a particle described by the Dirac equation. This explanation is possible through the existence of negative energy, and hence negative mass solutions of Einstein's gravitational field equations. They permit to understand the Dirac equation as the equation for a gravitationally bound positive-negative mass (pole-dipole particle) two-body configuration, with the mass of the Dirac particle equal to the positive mass of the gravitational field binding the positive with the negative mass particle, and with the mass particles making a luminal "Zitterbewegung" (quivering motion), emitting a watt-less oscillating positive-negative space curvature wave. It is shown that this thusly produced "Zitterbewegung" reproduces the quantum potential of the Madelung-transformed Schrödinger equation. The watt-less gravitational wave emitted by the quivering particles is conjectured to be de Broglie's pilot wave. The hypothesised connection of the Dirac equation to gravitational wave physics could, with the failure to detect gravitational waves by the LIGO antennas and pulsar timing arrays, give a clue to extended theories of gravity, or a correction of astrophysical models for the generation of such waves.

We present an X-ray photometric analysis of six gravitationallylensed quasars, with observation campaigns spanning from 5 to 14 years, measuring the total (0.83–21.8 keV restframe), soft- (0.83–3.6 keV), and hard- (3.6–21.8 keV) band image flux ratios for each epoch. Using the ratios of the model-predicted macro-magnifications as baselines, we build differential microlensing light curves and obtain joint likelihood functions for the average X-ray emission region sizes. Our analysis yields a probability distribution function for the average half-light radius of the X-ray emission region in the sample that peaks slightly above 1 gravitational radius and with nearly indistinguishable 68 % confidence (one-sided) upper limits of 17.8 and 18.9 gravitational radii for the soft and hard X-ray emitting regions, assuming a mean stellar mass of 0.3 M ⊙. We see hints of energy dependent microlensing between the soft and hard bands in two of the objects. In a separate analysis on the root-mean-square (rms) of the microlensing variability, we find significant differences between the soft and hard bands, but the sign of the difference is not consistent across the sample. This suggests the existence of some kind of spatial structure to the X-ray emission in an otherwise extremely compact source. We also discover a correlation between the rms microlensing variability and the average microlensing amplitude.

Weak-lensing shear estimates show a troublesome dependence on the apparent brightness of the galaxies used to measure the ellipticity: in several studies, the amplitude of the inferred shear falls sharply with decreasing source significance. This dependence limits the overall ability of upcoming large weak-lensing surveys to constrain cosmological parameters. We seek to provide a concise overview of the impact of pixel noise on weak-lensing measurements, covering the entire path from noisy images to shear estimates. We show that there are at least three distinct layers, where pixel noise not only obscures but also biases the outcome of the measurements: (1) the propagation of pixel noise to the non-linear observable ellipticity; (2) the response of the shape-measurement methods to limited amount of information extractable from noisy images and (3) the reaction of shear estimation statistics to the presence of noise and outliers in the measured ellipticities. We identify and discuss several fundamental problems and show that each of them is able to introduce biases in the range of a few tens to a few per cent for galaxies with typical significance levels. Furthermore, all of these biases do not only depend on the brightness of galaxies but also depend on their ellipticity, with more elliptical galaxies often being harder to measure correctly. We also discuss existing possibilities to mitigate and novel ideas to avoid the biases induced by pixel noise. We present a new shear estimator that shows a more robust performance for noisy ellipticity samples. Finally, we release the open-source PYTHON code to predict and efficiently sample from the noisy ellipticity distribution and the shear estimators used in this work at https://github.com/pmelchior/epsnoise.

We present a framework for the study of lensing in spherically symmetric spacetimes within the context of f(R) gravity. Equations for the propagation of null geodesics, together with an expression for the bending angle, are derived for any f(R) theory and then applied to an exact spherically symmetric solution of R{sup n} gravity. We find that for this case more bending is expected for R{sup n} gravity theories in comparison to general relativity and is dependent on the value of n and the value of the distance of closest approach of the incident null geodesic.

Results from the ongoing HST Snapshot Survey are presented, with emphasis on 152 high-luminosity, z greater than 1 quasars. One quasar among those observed, 1208 + 1011, is a candidate lens system with subarcsecond image separation. Six other quasars have point sources within 6 arcsec. Ground-based observations of five of these cases show that the companion point sources are foreground Galactic stars. The predicted lensing frequency of the sample is calculated for a variety of cosmological models. The effect of uncertainties in some of the observational parameters upon the predictions is discussed. No correlation of the drift rate with time, right ascension, declination, or point error is found.

The merging cluster Abell 2146 consists of two galaxy clusters that have recently collided close to the plane of the sky. In images from Chandra X-ray Observatory there are two distinct shock fronts in the intracluster medium. An unusual feature of one of the clusters is that the peak in the X-ray is leading the brightest cluster galaxy. The dark matter component is coincident with the brightest cluster galaxy (BCG). Shortly after first core passage one would typically expect the dark matter and BCG to lead the X-ray emitting plasma, however, that is not the case with Abell 2146. Strong lensing features were identified on images taken by the Hubble Space Telescope. These features were used as constraints on a lens model that maps the matter distribution of the system. We focus on the cluster Abell 2146-A to determine the dark matter centroid near BCG-A and the peak in the X-ray. The results from the strong lensing model indicate the X-ray cool core leads both the dark matter centroid and BCG-A. The dark matter centroid and BCG-A are separated by ≈ 2 kpc. The X-ray peak and dark matter centroid are separated by ≈ 30 kpc.

The consequences of the hypothesis that a supermassive black hole can serve as a gravitational lens are analytically studied. It is shown that the presence of a black hole could be established by the unique property that it would appear against the microwave background as a black spot with a diameter of 0.1 arcsec or greater. The only instrument capable of either resolving the black spot or at least noticing it as a negative luminosity source is the Very Large Array.

The recent discovery of gravitational waves from stellar-mass binary black holes (BBHs) provided direct evidence of the existence of these systems. These BBHs would have gravitational microlensing signatures that are, due to their large masses and small separations, distinct from single-lens signals. We apply Bayesian statistics to examine the distinguishability of BBH microlensing events from single-lens events under ideal observing conditions, using modern photometric and astrometric capabilities. Given one year of ideal observations, a source star at the Galactic center, a GW150914-like BBH lens (total mass 65 solar masses, mass ratio 0.8) at half that distance, and an impact parameter of 0.4 Einstein radii, we find that BBHs with separations down to 0.00634 Einstein radii are detectable, marginally below the separation at which such systems would merge due to gravitational radiation with the age of the Universe. Supported by Alfred P Sloan Foundation Grant No. RG- 2015-65299 and NSF Grant No. PHY-1607031.

The fraction of ionizing photons escaping from high-redshift star-forming galaxies is a key obstacle in evaluating whether galaxies were the primary agents of cosmic reionization. We previously proposed using the covering fraction of low-ionization gas, measured via deep absorption-line spectroscopy, as a proxy. We now present a significant update, sampling seven gravitationallylensed sources at 4 < z < 5. We show that the absorbing gas in our sources is spatially inhomogeneous, with a median covering fraction of 66%. Correcting for reddening according to a dust-in-cloud model, this implies an estimated absolute escape fraction of ≃19% ± 6%. With possible biases and uncertainties, collectively we find that the average escape fraction could be reduced to no less than 11%, excluding the effect of spatial variations. For one of our lensed sources, we have sufficient signal-to-noise ratio to demonstrate the presence of such spatial variations and scatter in its dependence on the Lyα equivalent width, consistent with recent simulations. If this source is typical, our lower limit to the escape fraction could be reduced by a further factor ≃2. Across our sample, we find a modest anticorrelation between the inferred escape fraction and the local star formation rate, consistent with a time delay between a burst and leaking Lyman continuum photons. Our analysis demonstrates considerable variations in the escape fraction, consistent with being governed by the small-scale behavior of star-forming regions, whose activities fluctuate over short timescales. This supports the suggestion that the escape fraction may increase toward the reionization era when star formation becomes more energetic and burst-like.

We use 118 strong gravitationallenses observed by the SLACS, BOSS emission-line lens survey (BELLS), LSD and SL2S surveys to constrain the total mass profile and the profile of luminosity density of stars (light tracers) in elliptical galaxies up to redshift z ˜ 1. Assuming power-law density profiles for the total mass density, ρ = ρ0(r/r0)-α, and luminosity density, ν = ν0(r/r0)-δ, we investigate the power-law index and its first derivative with respect to the redshift. Using Monte Carlo simulations of the posterior likelihood taking the Planck's best-fitting cosmology as a prior, we find γ = 2.132 ± 0.055 with a mild trend ∂γ/∂zl = -0.067 ± 0.119 when α = δ = γ, suggesting that the total density profile of massive galaxies could have become slightly steeper over cosmic time. Furthermore, similar analyses performed on sub-samples defined by different lens redshifts and velocity dispersions indicate the need of treating low-, intermediate- and high-mass galaxies separately. Allowing δ to be a free parameter, we obtain α = 2.070 ± 0.031, ∂α/∂zl = -0.121 ± 0.078 and δ = 2.710 ± 0.143. The model in which mass traces light is rejected at >95 per cent confidence, and our analysis robustly indicates the presence of dark matter in the form of a mass component that is differently spatially extended than the light. In this case, intermediate-mass elliptical galaxies (200 km s-1 lenses.

Throughout the last century, since the last decades of the XIX century, until present day, there had been many attempts to achieve the unification of the Forces of Nature. First unification was done by James Clerk Maxwell, with his Electromagnetic Theory. Then Max Plank developed his Quantum Theory. In 1905, Albert Einstein gave birth to the Special Relativity Theory, and in 1916 he came out with his General Relativity Theory. He noticed that there was an evident parallelism between the Gravitational Force, and the Electromagnetic Force. So, he tried to unify these forces of Nature. But Quantum Theory interposed on his way. On the 1940’s it had been developed the Quantum Electrodynamics (QED), and with it, the unified field theory had an arise interest. On the 60’s and 70’s there was developed the Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD). Along with these theories came the discovery of the strong interaction force and weak interaction force. And though there had been many attempts to unify all these forces of the nature, it could only be achieved the Unification of strong interaction, weak interaction and Electromagnetic Force. On the late 80”s and throughout the last two decades, theories such as “super-string theory”, “or the “M-theory”, among others, groups of Scientists, had been doing grand efforts and finally they came out with the unification of the forces of nature, being the only limitation the use of more than 11 dimensions. Using an ingenious mathematical tool known as the super symmetries, based on the Kaluza - Klein work, they achieve this goal. The strings of these theories are in the rank of 10-33 m. Which make them undetectable. There are many other string theories. The GEUFT theory is based on the existence of concentrated energy lines, which vibrates, expands and contracts, submitting and absorbing energy, matter and antimatter, and which yields a determined geometry, that gives as a result the formation of stars, galaxies, nebulae, clusters

A smooth three-dimensional mass distribution is approximated by a model with multiple thin screens, with surface mass density varying smoothly on each screen. It is found that 16 screens are sufficient for a good approximation of the three-dimensional distribution of matter. It is also found that in this multiscreen model the distribution of amplifications of single images is dominated by the convergence due to matter within the beam. The shear caused by matter outside the beam has no significant effect. This finding considerably simplifies the modeling of lensing by a smooth three-dimensional mass distribution by effectively reducing the problem to one dimension, as it is sufficient to know the mass distribution along a straight light ray.

We describe 10 strong lensing galaxy clusters of redshift 0.26 {<=} z {<=} 0.56 that were found in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. We present measurements of richness (N{sub 200}), mass (M{sub 200}), and velocity dispersion for the clusters. We find that in order to use the mass-richness relation from Johnston et al., which was established at mean redshift of 0.25, it is necessary to scale measured richness values up by 1.47. Using this scaling, we find richness values for these clusters to be in the range of 22 {<=} N{sub 200} {<=} 317 and mass values to be in the range of 1 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 14} h {sup -1} M{sub Sun} {<=} M{sub 200} {<=} 30 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 14} h {sup -1} M{sub Sun }. We also present measurements of Einstein radius, mass, and velocity dispersion for the lensing systems. The Einstein radii ({theta}{sub E}) are all relatively small, with 5.''4 {<=} {theta}{sub E} {<=} 13''. Finally, we consider if there is evidence that our clusters are more concentrated than {Lambda}CDM would predict. We find that six of our clusters do not show evidence of overconcentration, while four of our clusters do. We note a correlation between overconcentration and mass, as the four clusters showing evidence of overconcentration are all lower-mass clusters. For the four lowest mass clusters the average value of the concentration parameter c{sub 200} is 11.6, while for the six higher-mass clusters the average value of c{sub 200} is 4.4. {Lambda}CDM would place c{sub 200} between 3.4 and 5.7.

Systematic variations of the initial mass function (IMF) in early-type galaxies, and their connection with possible drivers such as velocity dispersion or metallicity, have been much debated in recent years. Strong lensing over galaxy scales combined with photometric and spectroscopic data provides a powerful method to constrain the stellar mass-to-light ratio and hence the functional form of the IMF. We combine photometric and spectroscopic constraints from the latest set of population synthesis models of Charlot & Bruzual, including a varying IMF, with a non-parametric analysis of the lens masses of 18 ETGs from the SLACS survey, with velocity dispersions in the range 200-300 km s-1. We find that very bottom-heavy IMFs are excluded. However, the upper limit to the bimodal IMF slope (μ ≲ 2.2, accounting for a dark matter fraction of 20-30 per cent, where μ = 1.3 corresponds to a Kroupa-like IMF) is compatible at the 1σ level with constraints imposed by gravity-sensitive line strengths. A two-segment power-law parametrization of the IMF (Salpeter-like for high masses) is more constrained (Γ ≲ 1.5, where Γ is the power index at low masses) but requires a dark matter contribution of ≳25 per cent to reconcile the results with a Salpeter IMF. For a standard Milky Way-like IMF to be applicable, a significant dark matter contribution is required within 1Re. Our results reveal a large range of allowed IMF slopes, which, when interpreted as intrinsic scatter in the IMF properties of ETGs, could explain the recent results of Smith et al., who find Milky Way-like IMF normalizations in a few massive lensing ETGs.

A new approach to massmap reconstruction is presented that delenses all multiple images of each lensed galaxy back to the exact same source position. Image sizes, shapes, and orientations may also be perfectly constrained. The massmap solution is obtained instantaneously without need for iterations. However, there is no unique solution given a set of multiple images, and other solutions may be obtained by adjusting the free parameters: the source positions and the basis function and its parameter(s). From these exact solutions, the user may choose that which best fits other observables: shears of singly-imaged galaxies, number count depletion, etc. No assumptions are made about the form of the massmap (although a basis function must be selected). And even though LensPerfect makes no assumptions about mass tracing light, we show that it is able to faithfully reproduce the significant features found in previous analyses of the lensing cluster Abell 1689. This new method is made possible by a recent advance in mathematics that allows for curl-free interpolation of a vector field (here, the image deflection) given at scattered data points (the image positions). LensPerfect is extremely straightforward and easy to use, and the software is made publicly available at http://www.iaa.es/ coe/LensPerfect/. --- ACS was developed under NASA contract NAS 5-32865, and this research is supported by NASA grant NAG5-7697. We are grateful for an equipment grant from the Sun Microsystems, Inc. This work has also been supported by the European Commission Marie Curie International Reintegration Grant 017288-BPZ and the PNAYA grant AYA2005-09413-C02.

An exact solution is obtained for the gravitational bending of light in static, spherically symmetric metrics which includes the Schwarzschild-de Sitter spacetime and also the Mannheim-Kazanas metric of conformal Weyl gravity. From the exact solution, we obtain a small-bending-angle approximation for a lens system where the source, lens, and observer are coaligned. This expansion improves previous calculations where we systematically avoid parameter ranges that correspond to nonexistent null trajectories. The linear coefficient γ characteristic to conformal gravity is shown to contribute enhanced deflection compared to the angle predicted by general relativity for small γ .

In this paper, we present the discovery and preliminary characterization of a gravitationallylensed quasar with a source redshift zs = 2.74 and image separation of 2.9 arcsec lensed by a foreground zl = 0.40 elliptical galaxy. Since optical observations of gravitationallylensed quasars show the lens system as a superposition of multiple point sources and a foreground lensing galaxy, we have developed a morphology-independent multi-wavelength approach to the photometric selection of lensed quasar candidates based on Gaussian Mixture Models (GMM) supervised machine learning. Using this technique and gi multicolour photometric observations from the Dark Energy Survey (DES), near-IR JK photometry from the VISTA Hemisphere Survey (VHS) and WISE mid-IR photometry, we have identified a candidate system with two catalogue components with iAB = 18.61 and iAB = 20.44 comprising an elliptical galaxy and two blue point sources. Spectroscopic follow-up with NTT and the use of an archival AAT spectrum show that the point sources can be identified as a lensed quasar with an emission line redshift of z = 2.739 ± 0.003 and a foreground early-type galaxy with z = 0.400 ± 0.002. We model the system as a single isothermal ellipsoid and find the Einstein radius θE ~ 1.47 arcsec, enclosed mass Menc ~ 4 × 1011 M⊙ and a time delay of ~52 d. Finally, the relatively wide separation, month scale time delay duration and high redshift make this an ideal system for constraining the expansion rate beyond a redshift of 1.

In this paper, we present the discovery and preliminary characterization of a gravitationallylensed quasar with a source redshift zs = 2.74 and image separation of 2.9 arcsec lensed by a foreground zl = 0.40 elliptical galaxy. Since optical observations of gravitationallylensed quasars show the lens system as a superposition of multiple point sources and a foreground lensing galaxy, we have developed a morphology-independent multi-wavelength approach to the photometric selection of lensed quasar candidates based on Gaussian Mixture Models (GMM) supervised machine learning. Using this technique and gi multicolour photometric observations from the Dark Energy Survey (DES), near-IR JKmore » photometry from the VISTA Hemisphere Survey (VHS) and WISE mid-IR photometry, we have identified a candidate system with two catalogue components with iAB = 18.61 and iAB = 20.44 comprising an elliptical galaxy and two blue point sources. Spectroscopic follow-up with NTT and the use of an archival AAT spectrum show that the point sources can be identified as a lensed quasar with an emission line redshift of z = 2.739 ± 0.003 and a foreground early-type galaxy with z = 0.400 ± 0.002. We model the system as a single isothermal ellipsoid and find the Einstein radius θE ~ 1.47 arcsec, enclosed mass Menc ~ 4 × 1011 M⊙ and a time delay of ~52 d. Finally, the relatively wide separation, month scale time delay duration and high redshift make this an ideal system for constraining the expansion rate beyond a redshift of 1.« less

We present the discovery and preliminary characterization of a gravitationallylensed quasar with a source redshift zs = 2.74 and image separation of 2.9 arcsec lensed by a foreground zl = 0.40 elliptical galaxy. Since optical observations of gravitationallylensed quasars show the lens system as a superposition of multiple point sources and a foreground lensing galaxy, we have developed a morphology-independent multi-wavelength approach to the photometric selection of lensed quasar candidates based on Gaussian Mixture Models (GMM) supervised machine learning. Using this technique and gi multicolour photometric observations from the Dark Energy Survey (DES), near-IR JK photometry from the VISTA Hemisphere Survey (VHS) and WISE mid-IR photometry, we have identified a candidate system with two catalogue components with iAB = 18.61 and iAB = 20.44 comprising an elliptical galaxy and two blue point sources. Spectroscopic follow-up with NTT and the use of an archival AAT spectrum show that the point sources can be identified as a lensed quasar with an emission line redshift of z = 2.739 ± 0.003 and a foreground early-type galaxy with z = 0.400 ± 0.002. We model the system as a single isothermal ellipsoid and find the Einstein radius θE ∼ 1.47 arcsec, enclosed mass Menc ∼ 4 × 1011 M⊙ and a time delay of ∼52 d. The relatively wide separation, month scale time delay duration and high redshift make this an ideal system for constraining the expansion rate beyond a redshift of 1.

Strong gravitationallenses are now being routinely discovered in wide-field surveys at (sub-)millimeter wavelengths. We present Submillimeter Array (SMA) high-spatial resolution imaging and Gemini-South and Multiple Mirror Telescope optical spectroscopy of strong lens candidates discovered in the two widest extragalactic surveys conducted by the Herschel Space Observatory: the Herschel-Astrophysical Terahertz Large Area Survey (H-ATLAS) and the Herschel Multi-tiered Extragalactic Survey (HerMES). From a sample of 30 Herschel sources with S {sub 500} > 100 mJy, 21 are strongly lensed (i.e., multiply imaged), 4 are moderately lensed (i.e., singly imaged), and the remainder require additional data to determine their lensing status. We apply a visibility-plane lens modeling technique to the SMA data to recover information about the masses of the lenses as well as the intrinsic (i.e., unlensed) sizes (r {sub half}) and far-infrared luminosities (L {sub FIR}) of the lensed submillimeter galaxies (SMGs). The sample of lenses comprises primarily isolated massive galaxies, but includes some groups and clusters as well. Several of the lenses are located at z {sub lens} > 0.7, a redshift regime that is inaccessible to lens searches based on Sloan Digital Sky Survey spectroscopy. The lensed SMGs are amplified by factors that are significantly below statistical model predictions given the 500 μm flux densities of our sample. We speculate that this may reflect a deficiency in our understanding of the intrinsic sizes and luminosities of the brightest SMGs. The lensed SMGs span nearly one decade in L {sub FIR} (median L {sub FIR} = 7.9 × 10{sup 12} L {sub ☉}) and two decades in FIR luminosity surface density (median Σ{sub FIR} = 6.0 × 10{sup 11} L {sub ☉} kpc{sup –2}). The strong lenses in this sample and others identified via (sub-)mm surveys will provide a wealth of information regarding the astrophysics of galaxy formation and evolution over a wide range in redshift.

We present the main project of the new grid infrastructure and the researches, that have been already started in Sicily and will be completed by next year. The PI2S2 project of the COMETA consortium is funded by the Italian Ministry of University and Research and will be completed in 2009. Funds are from the European Union Structural Funds for Objective 1 regions. The project, together with a similar project called Trinacria GRID Virtual Laboratory (Trigrid VL), aims to create in Sicily a computational grid for e-science and e-commerce applications with the main goal of increasing the technological innovation of local enterprises and their competition on the global market. PI2S2 project aims to build and develop an e-Infrastructure in Sicily, based on the grid paradigm, mainly for research activity using the grid environment and High Performance Computer systems. As an example we present the first results of a new grid version of FLY a tree Nbody code developed by INAF Astrophysical Observatory of Catania, already published in the CPC program Library, that will be used in the Weak GravitationalLensing field.

Strong gravitationallensing provides a powerful means for studying faint galaxies in the distant universe. By magnifying the apparent brightness of background sources, massive clusters enable the detection of galaxies fainter than the usual sensitivity limit for blank fields. However, this gain in effective sensitivity comes at the cost of a reduced survey volume and, in this Letter, we demonstrate that there is an associated increase in the cosmic variance uncertainty. As an example, we show that the cosmic variance uncertainty of the high-redshift population viewed through the Hubble Space Telescope Frontier Field cluster Abell 2744 increases from ∼35% at redshift z ∼ 7 to ≳ 65% at z ∼ 10. Previous studies of high-redshift galaxies identified in the Frontier Fields have underestimated the cosmic variance uncertainty that will affect the ultimate constraints on both the faint-end slope of the high-redshift luminosity function and the cosmic star formation rate density, key goals of the Frontier Field program.

Electromagnetic rays travel on curved paths under the influence of gravity. When a dispersive optical medium is included, these trajectories are frequency-dependent. In this work we consider the behaviour of rays when a spherically symmetric, luminous compact object described by the Schwarzschild metric is surrounded by an optically thin shell of plasma supported by radiation pressure. Such levitating atmospheres occupy a position of stable radial equilibrium, where radiative flux and gravitational effects are balanced. Using general relativity and an inhomogeneous plasma we find the existence of a stable circular orbit within the atmospheric shell for low-frequency rays. We explore families of bound orbits that exist between the shell and the compact object, and identify sets of novel periodic orbits. Finally, we examine conditions necessary for the trapping and escape of low-frequency radiation.

In this study, we present spectroscopic confirmation of two new lensed quasars via data obtained at the 6.5m Magellan/Baade Telescope. The lens candidates have been selected from the Dark Energy Survey (DES) and WISE based on their multi-band photometry and extended morphology in DES images. Images of DES J0115-5244 show two blue point sources at either side of a red galaxy. Our long-slit data confirm that both point sources are images of the same quasar at zs = 1.64. The Einstein Radius estimated from the DES images is 0.51''. DES J2146-0047 is in the area of overlap between DES andmore » the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). Two blue components are visible in the DES and SDSS images. The SDSS fiber spectrum shows a quasar component at zs = 2.38 and absorption compatible with Mg II and Fe II at zl = 0.799, which we tentatively associate with the foreground lens galaxy. The long-slit Magellan spectra show that the blue components are resolved images of the same quasar. Furthermore, the Einstein Radius is 0.68'' corresponding to an enclosed mass of 1.6 × 1011 M⊙. Three other candidates were observed and rejected, two being low-redshift pairs of starburst galaxies, and one being a quasar behind a blue star. These first confirmation results provide an important empirical validation of the data-mining and model-based selection that is being applied to the entire DES dataset.« less

In this study, we present spectroscopic confirmation of two new lensed quasars via data obtained at the 6.5m Magellan/Baade Telescope. The lens candidates have been selected from the Dark Energy Survey (DES) and WISE based on their multi-band photometry and extended morphology in DES images. Images of DES J0115-5244 show two blue point sources at either side of a red galaxy. Our long-slit data confirm that both point sources are images of the same quasar at zs = 1.64. The Einstein Radius estimated from the DES images is 0.51''. DES J2146-0047 is in the area of overlap between DES and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). Two blue components are visible in the DES and SDSS images. The SDSS fiber spectrum shows a quasar component at zs = 2.38 and absorption compatible with Mg II and Fe II at zl = 0.799, which we tentatively associate with the foreground lens galaxy. The long-slit Magellan spectra show that the blue components are resolved images of the same quasar. Furthermore, the Einstein Radius is 0.68'' corresponding to an enclosed mass of 1.6 × 1011 M⊙. Three other candidates were observed and rejected, two being low-redshift pairs of starburst galaxies, and one being a quasar behind a blue star. These first confirmation results provide an important empirical validation of the data-mining and model-based selection that is being applied to the entire DES dataset.

Images of highly luminous QSOs are analyzed to determine whether the gravitational magnification of the background QSO by matter associated with the foreground galaxies accounts for the excess of galaxies in the fields of distant QSOs. Galaxy detection is increased by utilizing red-filter images, 40 taken with the EFOSC at the ESO 3.6-m telescope and 43 taken with a direct CCD camera at the ESO/MPI 2.2-m telescope. The R-magnitude ranges from 22.5 to 23.0 for the sample, for which the number of galaxies is counted by eye, showing 45 galaxies of radio and optical type. The overdensity found is not as pronounced as that of Fugmann (1988) or that of Webster et al. (1988). A systematic subtraction of the point spread function is also described to investigate the idea that some galaxies responsible for the QSO light magnification are within the inner 3-arcsec circle. The galaxies very close to the line-of-sight are theorized to contribute significantly to the magnification of these QSOs.

Recently Sumi et al. reported evidence for a large population of planetary-mass objects (PMOs) that are either unbound or orbit host stars in orbits ≥10 AU. Their result was deduced from the statistical distribution of durations of gravitational microlensing events observed by the MOA collaboration during 2006 and 2007. Here we study the feasibility of measuring the mass of an individual PMO through microlensing by examining a particular event, MOA-2011-BLG-274. This event was unusual as the duration was short, the magnification high, the source-size effect large, and the angular Einstein radius small. Also, it was intensively monitored from widely separated locations under clear skies at low air masses. Choi et al. concluded that the lens of the event may have been a PMO but they did not attempt a measurement of its mass. We report here a re-analysis of the event using re-reduced data. We confirm the results of Choi et al. and attempt a measurement of the mass and distance of the lens using the terrestrial parallax effect. Evidence for terrestrial parallax is found at a 3σ level of confidence. The best fit to the data yields the mass and distance of the lens as 0.80 ± 0.30 M {sub J} and 0.80 ± 0.25 kpc respectively. We exclude a host star to the lens out to a separation ∼40 AU. Drawing on our analysis of MOA-2011-BLG-274 we propose observational strategies for future microlensing surveys to yield sharper results on PMOs including those down to super-Earth mass.

We present 2, 3.6, 6, and 20 cm radio maps of the gravitationally leased quasar 0957+561 obtained with the VLA in A configuration. Besides the well-known jet and lobe structure associated with image A and the point sources associated with image B and the radio source G, the new 3.6 cm maps show interesting extensions of radio source G towards and away from B and the 20 cm map shows a large amount of extended structure, some of it not seen before. We argue that at least some of the 3.6 cm extensions of G are the radio jet associated with image B placing the caustic for multiple images outside the radio jet emitting region. The central portion of the extended 20 cm emission may be an "Einstein ring" produced by faint radio emission located at the caustic while the northern and southern portions of the extended 20 cm emission resemble the outer lobes of a faint "classical double" source with an axis nearly perpendicular to the axis of the jet and lobe emission associated with image A. If these outer "lobes" are second images of the lobes associated with image A then they are very difficult to understand theoretically. Most likely they are the radio lobes of the galaxy G1. Relative point source positions are presented and compared to published VLBI positions and recently obtained optical positions from HST confirming that the VLA source G is coincident (±0.02") with both the VLBI source G' and the nucleus of the leasing galaxy G 1. However, all or a portion of radio source G/G' may still be the elusive third image of the quasar rather than a radio source associated with galaxy G1. Fluxes, spectral indices and flux ratios are presented and compared to values found in the literature. A portion of the 20 cm extended emission occurs in a region where extended X-ray emission was reported to be detected by Einstein and ROSAT. However, a re-analysis of the ROSAT data shows little evidence for this emission.

We report the discovery of a unique gravitational lens system, SDSS J2222+2745, producing five spectroscopically confirmed images of a z{sub s} = 2.82 quasar lensed by a foreground galaxy cluster at z{sub l} = 0.49. We also present photometric and spectroscopic evidence for a sixth lensed image of the same quasar. The maximum separation between the quasar images is 15.''1. Both the large image separations and the high image multiplicity are in themselves rare among known lensed quasars, and observing the combination of these two factors is an exceptionally unlikely occurrence in present data sets. This is only the third known case of a quasar lensed by a cluster, and the only one with six images. The lens system was discovered in the course of the Sloan Giant Arcs Survey, in which we identify candidate lenses in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and target these for follow-up and verification with the 2.56 m Nordic Optical Telescope. Multi-band photometry obtained over multiple epochs from 2011 September to 2012 September reveals significant variability at the {approx}10%-30% level in some of the quasar images, indicating that measurements of the relative time delay between quasar images will be feasible. In this lens system, we also identify a bright (g = 21.5) giant arc corresponding to a strongly lensed background galaxy at z{sub s} = 2.30. We fit parametric models of the lens system, constrained by the redshift and positions of the quasar images and the redshift and position of the giant arc. The predicted time delays between different pairs of quasar images range from {approx}100 days to {approx}6 yr.

The authors report the discovery of a cluster-scale lensed quasar, SDSS J1029+2623, selected from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. The lens system exhibits two lensed images of a quasar at z{sub s} = 2.197. The image separation of 22.5 makes it the largest separation lensed quasar discovered to date. The similarity of the optical spectra and the radio loudnesses of the two components support the lensing hypothesis. Images of the field show a cluster of galaxies at z{sub l} {approx} 0.55 that is responsible for the large image separation. The lensed images and the cluster light center are not collinear, which implies that the lensing cluster has a complex structure.

We study three high magnification microlensing events, generally recognized as probable caustic crossings, in the optical light curves of the multiply imaged quasar Q2237+0305. We model the light curve of each event as the convolution of a standard thin disk luminosity profile with a straight fold caustic. We also allow for a linear gradient that can account for an additional varying background effect of microlensing. This model not only matches noticeably well the global shape of each of the three independent microlensing events but also gives remarkably similar estimates for the disk size parameter. The measured average half-light radius, {R}1/2=(3.0+/- 1.5)\\sqrt{M/0.3M⊙ } light-days, agrees with previous estimates. In the three events, the core of the magnification profile exhibits “fine structure” related to the innermost region of the accretion disk (located at a radial distance of 2.7 ± 1.4 Schwarzschild radii according to our measurement). Relativistic beaming at the internal rim of the accretion disk can explain the shape and size of the fine structure, although alternative explanations are also possible. This is the first direct measurement of the size of a structure, likely the innermost stable circular orbit, at ˜3 Schwarzschild radii in a quasar accretion disk. The monitoring of thousands of lensed quasars with future telescopes will allow the study of the event horizon environment of black holes in hundreds of quasars in a wide range of redshifts (0.5 < z < 5).

Supermassive black holes are ubiquitous in nearby galaxies. The strong correlations between black hole masses and their host galaxy bulges suggest they are intimately connected. To understand their coevolution we study quasars where both quantities can be probed out to high redshifts. To overcome the well known obstacles in studying quasar hosts at z > 1, we study 28 gravitationallylensed host galaxies, located at 1 <= z s <= 4.5, which are stretched out into arcs and Einstein rings. Applying two new algorithms, GALFIT and LENSFIT, to images obtained in the HST NICMOS F160W filter, we clearly resolve the host galaxies. Many have evidences of multiple components, interaction, offset galaxy components, or bulges and disks. The host galaxies at z > 1 are mostly brighter than [Special characters omitted.] galaxies today, but would become fainter than [Special characters omitted.] today after accounting for passive evolution. Furthermore, they have modest sizes ( R e < 6 kpc), and the profiles of the hosts are roughly equally split between bulge dominated and disk dominated. Due to these evidences, the quasar hosts may not be fully evolved early-type galaxies undergoing passive evolution if they evolve into [Special characters omitted.] galaxies today. Moreover, comparing the hosts of radio-loud quasars and radio-quiet quasars, there is not a significant difference in their luminosities. Finally, we study the bulge luminosities ( L bulge ) and black hole masses ( [Special characters omitted.] ) at z [approximate] 1 and z [approximate] 2, finding that the hosts at z > 2 already lie near the same L bulge vs. [Special characters omitted.] relationship as for z = 0 normal galaxies . Accounting for an early-type galaxy evolution, they would fade below the relationship at present day. Therefore, the hosts at z [approximate] 2 must undergo a stellar mass buildup by a factor of 3-5, if they evolve into early-type galaxies. This implies their [Special characters omitted

Using strong gravitationallensing provided by massive galaxy clusters we have studied a sample of normal star-forming galaxies at z~1.5-3 selected from the Herschel Lensing Survey (HLS). The observations include deep ground-based, HST, Spitzer, and Herschel imaging, plus LABOCA/SCUBA2 data, and IRAM CO observations.Targetted [CII] 158 micron observations of one z=2.013 galaxy from this sample were recently obtained with ALMA, resulting in the first detection of this important ISM cooling line in a faint LIRG (with LIR~1.e11 Lsun), which is magnified by a factor ~50.We discuss the behavior of [CII] and CO emission with other physical properties such as IR luminosity, dust temperature, galaxy metallicity, specific star formation rate, and many other quantities which are measured for our lensed galaxies. We also compare the z~2 data to nearby galaxies and to recent detections and upper limits of [CII] in z>6 Lyman break galaxies and Lyman alpha emitters.

We report the discovery of a gravitationallylensed hyperluminous infrared galaxy (intrinsic LIR ≈ 1013 L⊙) with strong radio emission (intrinsic L1.4 GHz ≈ 1025 W Hz-1) at z = 2.553. The source was identified in the citizen science project SPACE WARPS through the visual inspection of tens of thousands of iJKs colour composite images of luminous red galaxies (LRGs), groups and clusters of galaxies and quasars. Appearing as a partial Einstein ring (re ≈ 3 arcsec) around an LRG at z = 0.2, the galaxy is extremely bright in the sub-millimetre for a cosmological source, with the thermal dust emission approaching 1 Jy at peak. The redshift of the lensed galaxy is determined through the detection of the CO(3→2) molecular emission line with the Large Millimetre Telescope's Redshift Search Receiver and through [O III] and Hα line detections in the near-infrared from Subaru/Infrared Camera and Spectrograph. We have resolved the radio emission with high-resolution (300-400 mas) eMERLIN L-band and Very Large Array C-band imaging. These observations are used in combination with the near-infrared imaging to construct a lens model, which indicates a lensing magnification of μ ≈ 10. The source reconstruction appears to support a radio morphology comprised of a compact (<250 pc) core and more extended component, perhaps indicative of an active nucleus and jet or lobe.

Understanding the distribution of mass on cosmic scales provides context for a number of astrophysical topics, including galaxy evolution, structure formation, and cosmology. In this dissertation, I present new research into the distribution of mass throughout the universe, ranging from small (sub-galactic) to large (Supercluster) scales. This work is spread over four separate studies, each focusing on slightly different cosmological distance scales. In the first study, I employ strong and weak gravitationallensing to measure the mass profiles of a sample of massive elliptical galaxies at moderate redshift (z ˜ 0.6). I find that the total mass profile is best described by an isothermal (r -2) distribution, which disagrees with predictions made by numerical simulations. This disagreement provides important clues about the poorly understood interactions between dark matter and baryons. Furthermore, I compare these results to those of a low-redshift (z ˜ 0.2) galaxy sample, and this allows me to constrain the evolution of galaxy-scale mass profiles over a timescale of ˜ 7 billion years. In the second and third studies, I combine strong lensing constraints and high-resolution adaptive optics imaging to develop new mass models for the lens systems B0128+437 and B1938+666. I use these models to search for the presence of small-scale substructures (satellite galaxies) in the vicinity of the host lens. While structure formation models predict a large number of substructure galaxies orbiting a host, this does not agree with observations of the local universe, where only a handful of satellites are seen. I compare the upper-limit substructure constraints from the two strong lenses to the properties of known Milky Way satellites, and lay the foundation for a comprehensive census of extragalactic substructure, using a large sample of lenses to better resolve the tension between theory and observation. Finally, in the fourth study, I focus on mass at super-galactic scales

The cosmological peculiar velocity field (deviations from the pure Hubble flow) of matter carries significant information on dark energy, dark matter and the underlying theory of gravity on large scales. Peculiar motions of galaxies introduce systematic deviations between the observed galaxy redshifts z and the corresponding cosmological redshifts z{sub c{sub o{sub s}}}. A novel method for estimating the angular power spectrum of the peculiar velocity field based on observations of galaxy redshifts and apparent magnitudes m (or equivalently fluxes) is presented. This method exploits the fact that a mean relation between z{sub c{sub o{sub s}}} and m of galaxies can be derived from all galaxies in a redshift-magnitude survey. Given a galaxy magnitude, it is shown that the z{sub c{sub o{sub s}}}(m) relation yields its cosmological redshift with a 1σ error of σ{sub z} ∼ 0.3 for a survey like Euclid ( ∼ 10{sup 9} galaxies at z∼<2), and can be used to constrain the angular power spectrum of z−z{sub c{sub o{sub s}}}(m) with a high signal-to-noise ratio. At large angular separations corresponding to l∼<15, we obtain significant constraints on the power spectrum of the peculiar velocity field. At 15∼gravitational lensing magnification dominate, allowing us to probe the line-of-sight integral of the gravitational potential. Effects related to the environmental dependence in the luminosity function can easily be computed and their contamination removed from the estimated power spectra. The amplitude of the combined velocity and lensing power spectra at z ∼ 1 can be measured with ∼<5% accuracy.

Aims: We present V and R photometry of the gravitationallylensed quasars WFI 2033-4723 and HE 0047-1756. The data were taken by the MiNDSTEp collaboration with the 1.54 m Danish telescope at the ESO La Silla observatory from 2008 to 2012. Methods: Differential photometry has been carried out using the image subtraction method as implemented in the HOTPAnTS package, additionally using GALFIT for quasar photometry. Results: The quasar WFI 2033-4723 showed brightness variations of order 0.5 mag in V and R during the campaign. The two lensed components of quasar HE 0047-1756 varied by 0.2-0.3 mag within five years. We provide, for the first time, an estimate of the time delay of component B with respect to A of Δt = (7.6 ± 1.8) days for this object. We also find evidence for a secular evolution of the magnitude difference between components A and B in both filters, which we explain as due to a long-duration microlensing event. Finally we find that both quasars WFI 2033-4723 and HE 0047-1756 become bluer when brighter, which is consistent with previous studies. Based on data collected by MiNDSTEp with the Danish 1.54 m telescope at the ESO La Silla observatory.

The contributions of the cosmological constant to the deflection angle and the time delays are derived from the integration of the gravitational potential as well as from Fermat's principle. The findings are in agreement with recent results using exact solutions to Einstein's equations and reproduce precisely the new {lambda} term in the bending angle and the lens equation. The consequences on time-delay expressions are explored. While it is known that {lambda} contributes to the gravitational time delay, it is shown here that a new {lambda} term appears in the geometrical time delay as well. Although these newly derived terms are perhaps small for current observations, they do not cancel out as previously claimed. Moreover, as shown before, at galaxy cluster scale, the {lambda} contribution can be larger than the second-order term in the Einstein deflection angle for several cluster lens systems.

Observations by the Atacama Large Millimetre/sub-millimetre Array of the 358 GHz continuum emission of the gravitationallylensed quasar host RX J0911.4+0551 have been analysed. They complement earlier Plateau de Bure Interferometer observations of the CO(7-6) emission. The good knowledge of the lensing potential obtained from Hubble Space Telescope observations of the quasar makes a joint analysis of the three emissions possible. It gives evidence for the quasar source to be concentric with the continuum source within 0.31 kpc and with the CO(7-6) source within 1.10 kpc. It also provides a measurement of the size of the continuum source, 0.76 ± 0.04 kpc FWHM, making RX J0911.4+0551 one of the few high redshift galaxies for which the dust and gas components are resolved with dimensions being measured. Both are found to be very compact, the former being smaller than the latter by a factor of ˜3.4 ±0.4. Moreover, new measurements of the CO ladder - CO(10-9) and CO(11-10) - are presented that confirm the extreme narrowness of the CO line width (107±20 km s-1 on average). Their mere detection implies higher temperature and/or density than for typical quasar hosts at this redshift and suggests a possible contribution of the central AGN to gas and dust heating. The results are interpreted in terms of current understanding of galaxy evolution at the peak of star formation. They suggest that RX J0911.4+0551 is a young galaxy in an early stage of its evolution, having experienced no recent major mergers, star formation being concentrated in its centre.

Context. QSO B0218+357 is a gravitationallylensed blazar located at a redshift of 0.944. The gravitationallensing splits the emitted radiation into two components that are spatially indistinguishable by gamma-ray instruments, but separated by a 10-12 day delay. In July 2014, QSO B0218+357 experienced a violent flare observed by the Fermi-LAT and followed by the MAGIC telescopes. Aims: The spectral energy distribution of QSO B0218+357 can give information on the energetics of z 1 very high energy gamma-ray sources. Moreover the gamma-ray emission can also be used as a probe of the extragalactic background light at z 1. Methods: MAGIC performed observations of QSO B0218+357 during the expected arrival time of the delayed component of the emission. The MAGIC and Fermi-LAT observations were accompanied by quasi-simultaneous optical data from the KVA telescope and X-ray observations by Swift-XRT. We construct a multiwavelength spectral energy distribution of QSO B0218+357 and use it to model the source. The GeV and sub-TeV data obtained by Fermi-LAT and MAGIC are used to set constraints on the extragalactic background light. Results: Very high energy gamma-ray emission was detected from the direction of QSO B0218+357 by the MAGIC telescopes during the expected time of arrival of the trailing component of the flare, making it the farthest very high energy gamma-ray source detected to date. The observed emission spans the energy range from 65 to 175 GeV. The combined MAGIC and Fermi-LAT spectral energy distribution of QSO B0218+357 is consistent with current extragalactic background light models. The broadband emission can be modeled in the framework of a two-zone external Compton scenario, where the GeV emission comes from an emission region in the jet, located outside the broad line region.

As part of an all-sky follow-up of the Planck catalogue of Sunyaev-Zeldovich (SZ) cluster candidates detected in the first 14 months of data, we are observing cluster candidates in the southern sky in the optical imaging and spectroscopy through an ESO Large Programme. Inspection of ESO New Technology Telescope (NTT) R-and z-band imaging data from our programme has revealed an unusually large and bright arc in the field of PSZ1 G311.65-18.48. We establish the basic photometric and morphological properties of the arc and provide conclusive evidence for the gravitationallensing nature of this object. Guided by the NTT images, we have obtained a long-slit spectrum with IMACS on the Magellan-I Baade Telescope, covering a part of the arc and the brightest cluster galaxy of PSZ1 G311.65-18.48. Our imaging data confirm the presence of a galaxy cluster coinciding (within 0.´6) with the position of the Planck SZ source. The arc is separated by ~30″ from the brightest cluster galaxy, which closely coincides with the center of curvature of the arc. A photometric analysis yields integrated (Vega) magnitudes of (R,z,J,Ks) = (17.82,17.38,16.75,15.43) for the arc, more than one magnitude brighter than any previously known lensed arc at z ~ 2-3. The arc is a vigorously star-forming galaxy at z = 2.369, while the Planck SZ cluster lens is at z = 0.443.Even when allowing for lensing magnifications as high as μ = 100 still leads to the conclusion that the source galaxy is among the intrinsically most luminous normal (i.e., non-AGN) galaxies known at z ~ 2-3. FITS files of all the reduced images are only available at the CDS via anonymous ftp to http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (http://130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/qcat?J/A+A/590/L4

We investigate the information content of various cosmic shear statistics on the theory of gravity. Focusing on the Hu-Sawicki-type f(R) model, we perform a set of ray-tracing simulations and measure the convergence bispectrum, peak counts and Minkowski functionals. We first show that while the convergence power spectrum does have sensitivity to the current value of extra scalar degree of freedom |fR0|, it is largely compensated by a change in the present density amplitude parameter σ8 and the matter density parameter Ωm0. With accurate covariance matrices obtained from 1000 lensing simulations, we then examine the constraining power of the three additional statistics. We find that these probes are indeed helpful to break the parameter degeneracy, which cannot be resolved from the power spectrum alone. We show that especially the peak counts and Minkowski functionals have the potential to rigorously (marginally) detect the signature of modified gravity with the parameter |fR0| as small as 10-5 (10-6) if we can properly model them on small (∼1 arcmin) scale in a future survey with a sky coverage of 1500 deg2. We also show that the signal level is similar among the additional three statistics and all of them provide complementary information to the power spectrum. These findings indicate the importance of combining multiple probes beyond the standard power spectrum analysis to detect possible modifications to general relativity.

The cross correlation between the thermal Sunyaev-Zeldovich (tSZ) effect and gravitationallensing in wide field has recently been measured. It can be used to probe the distribution of the diffuse gas in large scale structure, as well as inform us about the missing baryons. As for any lensing-based quantity, higher order lensing effects can potentially affect the signal. Here, we extend previous higher order lensing calculations to the case of tSZ-lensing cross correlations. We derive terms analogous to corrections due to the Born approximation, lens-lens coupling, and reduced shear up to order ℓ ∼> 3000.

The Large Area Telescope (LAT) on board the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope routinely detects the MeV-peaked flat-spectrum radio quasar PKS 1830–211 (z = 2.507). Its apparent isotropic γ-ray luminosity (E > 100 MeV), averaged over ~3 years of observations and peaking on 2010 October 14/15 at 2.9 × 10(50) erg s(–)(1), makes it among the brightest high-redshift Fermi blazars. No published model with a single lens can account for all of the observed characteristics of this complex system. Based on radio observations, one expects time-delayed variability to follow about 25 days after a primary flare, with flux about a factor of 1.5 less. Two large γ-ray flares of PKS 1830–211 have been detected by the LAT in the considered period, and no substantial evidence for such a delayed activity was found. This allows us to place a lower limit of about 6 on the γ-ray flux ratio between the two lensed images. Swift XRT observations from a dedicated Target of Opportunity program indicate a hard spectrum with no significant correlation of X-ray flux with the γ-ray variability. The spectral energy distribution can be modeled with inverse Compton scattering of thermal photons from the dusty torus. The implications of the LAT data in terms of variability, the lack of evident delayed flare events, and different radio and γ-ray flux ratios are discussed. Microlensing effects, absorption, size and location of the emitting regions, the complex mass distribution of the system, an energy-dependent inner structure of the source, and flux suppression by the lens galaxy for one image path may be considered as hypotheses for understanding our results.

The Large Area Telescope (LAT) on board the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope routinely detects the MeV-peaked flat-spectrum radio quasar PKS 1830–211 (z = 2.507). Its apparent isotropic γ-ray luminosity (E > 100 MeV), averaged over ∼3 years of observations and peaking on 2010 October 14/15 at 2.9 × 10{sup 50} erg s{sup –1}, makes it among the brightest high-redshift Fermi blazars. No published model with a single lens can account for all of the observed characteristics of this complex system. Based on radio observations, one expects time-delayed variability to follow about 25 days after a primary flare, with flux about a factor of 1.5 less. Two large γ-ray flares of PKS 1830–211 have been detected by the LAT in the considered period, and no substantial evidence for such a delayed activity was found. This allows us to place a lower limit of about 6 on the γ-ray flux ratio between the two lensed images. Swift XRT observations from a dedicated Target of Opportunity program indicate a hard spectrum with no significant correlation of X-ray flux with the γ-ray variability. The spectral energy distribution can be modeled with inverse Compton scattering of thermal photons from the dusty torus. The implications of the LAT data in terms of variability, the lack of evident delayed flare events, and different radio and γ-ray flux ratios are discussed. Microlensing effects, absorption, size and location of the emitting regions, the complex mass distribution of the system, an energy-dependent inner structure of the source, and flux suppression by the lens galaxy for one image path may be considered as hypotheses for understanding our results.

Exploiting the power of gravitationallensing, the Hubble Frontier Fields (HFF) program aims at observing six massive galaxy clusters to explore the distant universe far beyond the limits of blank field surveys. Using the complete Hubble Space Telescope observations of the first HFF cluster A2744, we report the detection of 50 galaxy candidates at z ~ 7 and eight candidates at z ~ 8 in a total survey area of 0.96 arcmin2 in the source plane. Three of these galaxies are multiply imaged by the lensing cluster. Using an updated model of the mass distribution in the cluster we were able to calculate the magnification factor and the effective survey volume for each galaxy in order to compute the ultraviolet galaxy luminosity function (LF) at both redshifts 7 and 8. Our new measurements reliably extend the z ~ 7 UV LF down to an absolute magnitude of M UV ~ -15.5. We find a characteristic magnitude of M\\star UV = -20.90+0.90-0.73 mag and a faint-end slope α =-2.01+0.20-0.28, close to previous determinations in blank fields. We show here for the first time that this slope remains steep down to very faint luminosities of 0.01 L sstarf. Although prone to large uncertainties, our results at z ~ 8 also seem to confirm a steep faint-end slope below 0.1 L sstarf. The HFF program is therefore providing an extremely efficient way to study the faintest galaxy populations at z > 7 that would otherwise be inaccessible with current instrumentation. The full sample of six galaxy clusters will provide even better constraints on the buildup of galaxies at early epochs and their contribution to cosmic reionization. Based on observations made with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under NASA contract NAS 5-26555. These observations are associated with programs 13495, 11386, 13389, and 11689. STScI is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc. under NASA contract NAS

We compute the angular power spectra of the E-type and B-type lensing potentials for gravitational waves from inflation and for tensor perturbations induced by scalar perturbations. We derive the tensor-lensed CMB power spectra for both cases. We also apply our formalism to determine the linear lensing potential for a Bianchi I spacetime with small anisotropy.

Massive objects in space act as gravitationallenses, bending and focusing light. Scientists have now created a photonic analogue of a gravitational lens on a chip, and have shown that it is strong enough to force light into orbits.

This thesis examines two predictions of general relativity: weak lensing and gravitational waves. The cosmic microwave background (CMB) is gravitationallylensed by the large-scale structure between the observer and the last- scattering surface. This weak lensing induces non-Gaussian correlations that can be used to construct estimators for the deflection field. The error and bias of these estimators are derived and used to analyze the viability of lensing reconstruction for future CMB experiments. Weak lensing also affects the one-point probability distribution function of the CMB. The skewness and kurtosis induced by lensing and the Sunayev- Zel'dovich (SZ) effect are calculated as functions of the angular smoothing scale of the map. While these functions offer the advantage of easy computability, only the skewness from lensing-SZ correlations can potentially be detected, even in the limit of the largest amplitude fluctuations allowed by observation. Lensing estimators are also essential to constrain inflation, the favored explanation for large-scale isotropy and the origin of primordial perturbations. B-mode polarization is considered to be a "smoking-gun" signature of inflation, and lensing estimators can be used to recover primordial B-modes from lensing-induced contamination. The ability of future CMB experiments to constrain inflation is assessed as functions of survey size and instrumental sensitivity. A final application of lensing estimators is to constrain a possible cutoff in primordial density perturbations on near-horizon scales. The paucity of independent modes on such scales limits the statistical certainty of such a constraint. Measurements of the deflection field can be used to constrain at the 3s level the existence of a cutoff large enough to account for current CMB observations. A final chapter of this thesis considers an independent topic: the gravitational-wave (GW) signature of a binary inspiral into a horizonless object. If the supermassive

This work develops a statistical theory of gravitating spheroidal bodies to calculate the orbits of planets and explore forms of planetary orbits with regard to the Alfvén oscillating force [1] in the Solar system and other exoplanetary systems. The statistical theory of formation of gravitating spheroidal bodies has been proposed in [2]-[5]. Starting the conception for forming a spheroidal body inside a gas-dust protoplanetary nebula, this theory solves the problem of gravitational condensation of a gas-dust protoplanetary cloud with a view to planetary formation in its own gravitational field [3] as well as derives a new law of the Solar system planetary distances which generalizes the wellknown laws [2], [3]. This work also explains an origin of the Alfvén oscillating force modifying forms of planetary orbits within the framework of the statistical theory of gravitating spheroidal bodies [5]. Due to the Alfvén oscillating force moving solid bodies in a distant zone of a rotating spheroidal body have elliptic trajectories. It means that orbits for the enough remote planets from the Sun in Solar system are described by ellipses with focus in the origin of coordinates and with small eccentricities. The nearby planet to Sun named Mercury has more complex trajectory. Namely, in case of Mercury the angular displacement of a Newtonian ellipse is observed during its one rotation on an orbit, i.e. a regular (century) shift of the perihelion of Mercury' orbit occurs. According to the statistical theory of gravitating spheroidal bodies [2]-[5] under the usage of laws of celestial mechanics in conformity to cosmogonic bodies (especially, to stars) it is necessary to take into account an extended substance called a stellar corona. In this connection the stellar corona can be described by means of model of rotating and gravitating spheroidal body [5]. Moreover, the parameter of gravitational compression α of a spheroidal body (describing the Sun, in particular) has been

We report on the serendipitous discovery in the Blanco Cosmology Survey (BCS) imaging data of a z = 0.9057 galaxy that is being strongly lensed by a massive galaxy cluster at a redshift of z = 0.3838. The lens (BCS J2352-5452) was discovered while examining i- and z-band images being acquired in October 2006 during a BCS observing run. Follow-up spectroscopic observations with the GMOS instrument on the Gemini South 8m telescope confirmed the lensing nature of this system. Using weak plus strong lensing, velocity dispersion, cluster richness N200, and fitting to an NFW cluster mass density profile, we have made three independent estimates of the mass M200 which are all very consistent with each other. The combination of the results from the three methods gives M200 = (5.1 x 1.3) x 1014circle_dot, which is fully consistent with the individual measurements. The final NFW concentration c200 from the combined fit is c200 = 5.4-1.1+1.4. We have compared our measurements of M200 and c200 with predictions for (a) clusters from λCDM simulations, (b) lensing selected clusters from simulations, and (c) a real sample of cluster lenses. We find that we are most compatible with the predictions for λCDM simulations for lensing clusters, and we see no evidence based on this one system for an increased concentration compared to λCDM. Finally, using the flux measured from the [OII]3727 line we have determined the star formation rate (SFR) of the source galaxy and find it to be rather modest given the assumed lens magnification.

We report on the serendipitous discovery in the Blanco Cosmology Survey (BCS) imaging data of a z = 0.9057 galaxy that is being strongly lensed by a massive galaxy cluster at a redshift of z = 0.3838. The lens (BCS J2352-5452) was discovered while examining i- and z-band images being acquired in 2006 October during a BCS observing run. Follow-up spectroscopic observations with the Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph instrument on the Gemini-South 8 m telescope confirmed the lensing nature of this system. Using weak-plus-strong lensing, velocity dispersion, cluster richness N{sub 200}, and fitting to a Navarro-Frenk-White (NFW) cluster mass density profile, we have made three independent estimates of the mass M{sub 200} which are all very consistent with each other. The combination of the results from the three methods gives M{sub 200} = (5.1 {+-} 1.3) Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 14} M{sub Sun }, which is fully consistent with the individual measurements. The final NFW concentration c{sub 200} from the combined fit is c{sub 200} = 5.4{sup +1.4}{sub -1.1}. We have compared our measurements of M{sub 200} and c{sub 200} with predictions for (1) clusters from {Lambda}CDM simulations, (2) lensing-selected clusters from simulations, and (3) a real sample of cluster lenses. We find that we are most compatible with the predictions for {Lambda}CDM simulations for lensing clusters, and we see no evidence based on this one system for an increased concentration compared to {Lambda}CDM. Finally, using the flux measured from the [O II]3727 line we have determined the star formation rate of the source galaxy and find it to be rather modest given the assumed lens magnification.

We report on the serendipitous discovery in the Blanco Cosmology Survey (BCS) imaging data of a z = 0.9057 galaxy that is being strongly lensed by a massive galaxy cluster at a redshift of z = 0.3838. The lens (BCS J2352-5452) was discovered while examining i- and z-band images being acquired in October 2006 during a BCS observing run. Follow-up spectroscopic observations with the GMOS instrument on the Gemini South 8m telescope confirmed the lensing nature of this system. Using weak plus strong lensing, velocity dispersion, cluster richness N200, and fitting to an NFW cluster mass density profile, we havemore » made three independent estimates of the mass M200 which are all very consistent with each other. The combination of the results from the three methods gives M200 = (5.1 x 1.3) x 1014 circle_dot, which is fully consistent with the individual measurements. The final NFW concentration c200 from the combined fit is c200 = 5.4-1.1+1.4. We have compared our measurements of M200 and c200 with predictions for (a) clusters from λCDM simulations, (b) lensing selected clusters from simulations, and (c) a real sample of cluster lenses. We find that we are most compatible with the predictions for λCDM simulations for lensing clusters, and we see no evidence based on this one system for an increased concentration compared to λCDM. Finally, using the flux measured from the [OII]3727 line we have determined the star formation rate (SFR) of the source galaxy and find it to be rather modest given the assumed lens magnification.« less

We investigate the gravitationallensing effect in presence of plasma. We observe that in a homogeneous plasma the gravitational deflection angle differs from that in vacuum, and it depends on the frequency of the photon. We discuss observational consequences of this dependence for the point-mass lensing and estimate possibility of the observation of this effect by the planned project Radioastron.

Highly accurate weak lensing analysis is urgently required for planned cosmic shear observations. For this purpose we have eliminated various systematic noises in the measurement. The point-spread function (PSF) effect is one of them. A perturbative approach for correcting the PSF effect on the observed image ellipticities has been previously employed. Here we propose a new non-perturbative approach for PSF correction that avoids the systematic error associated with the perturbative approach. The new method uses an artificial image for measuring shear which has the same ellipticity as the lensed image. This is done by re-smearing the observed galaxy images and observed star images (PSF) with an additional smearing function to obtain the original lensed galaxy images. We tested the new method with simple simulated objects that have Gaussian or Sérsic profiles smeared by a Gaussian PSF with sufficiently large size to neglect pixelization. Under the condition of no pixel noise, it is confirmed that the new method has no systematic error even if the PSF is large and has a high ellipticity.

Depending on gravitational lens masses, people are speaking about different regimes of gravitationallensing or more precisely, different regimes correspond to different angular distances, assuming that lenses and sources are located at cosmological distances. If a gravitational lens has a stellar mass, the regime is called microlensing. Since a distance between images depends on a square root of a lens mass, a regime for a lens with a planet mass (10^{-6} M_{⊙}) is called nanolensing. Therefore, searches for light exoplanets with gravitationallensing may be called nanolensing. There are different techniques to find exoplanets such as Doppler shift measurements, transits, pulsar timing, astrometrical measurements. It was noted that gravitational microlensing is the most promising technique to find exoplanets near the habitable zone with a temperature at exoplanet surface in the range 1 - 100° C (or in the temperature range for temperature of liquid water).

In principle, the most straightforward method of estimating the Hubble constant relies on time delays between mirage images of strongly lensed sources. It is a puzzle, then, that the values of H 0 obtained with this method span a range from ~50-100 km s-1Mpc-1. Quasars monitored to measure these time delays are multi-component objects. The variability may arise from different components of the quasar or may even originate from a jet. Misidentifying a variable-emitting region in a jet with emission from the core region may introduce an error in the Hubble constant derived from a time delay. Here, we investigate the complex structure of the sources as the underlying physical explanation of the wide spread in values of the Hubble constant based on gravitationallensing. Our Monte Carlo simulations demonstrate that the derived value of the Hubble constant is very sensitive to the offset between the center of the emission and the center of the variable emitting region. Therefore, we propose using the value of H 0 known from other techniques to spatially resolve the origin of the variable emission once the time delay is measured. We particularly advocate this method for gamma-ray astronomy, where the angular resolution of detectors reaches approximately 0.°1 lensed blazars offer the only route for identify the origin of gamma-ray flares. Large future samples of gravitationallylensed sources identified with Euclid, SKA, and LSST will enable a statistical determination of H 0.

Weak gravitationallensing is responsible for the shearing and magnification of the images of high-redshift sources due to the presence of intervening mass. Since the lensing effects arise from deflections of the light rays due to fluctuations of the gravitational potential, they can be directly related to the underlying density field of the large-scale structures. Weak gravitational surveys are complementary to both galaxy surveys and cosmic microwave background observations as they probe unbiased nonlinear matter power spectra at medium redshift. Ongoing CMBR experiments such as WMAP and a future Planck satellite mission will measure the standard cosmological parameters with unprecedented accuracy. The focus of attention will then shift to understanding the nature of dark matter and vacuum energy: several recent studies suggest that lensing is the best method for constraining the dark energy equation of state. During the next 5 year period, ongoing and future weak lensing surveys such as the Joint Dark Energy Mission (JDEM; e.g. SNAP) or the Large-aperture Synoptic Survey Telescope will play a major role in advancing our understanding of the universe in this direction. In this review article, we describe various aspects of probing the matter power spectrum and the bi-spectrum and other related statistics with weak lensing surveys. This can be used to probe the background dynamics of the universe as well as the nature of dark matter and dark energy.

Building on the work of Piaget, this article examines how children explain scientific phenomena using simile and metaphor. Demonstrates the difficulty children have in constructing explanations which contain sufficient "semantic distance" to be effective. Contends that comparison-as-explanation may bid for a place among the basic…

We present a new perspective on gravitationallensing. We describe a new extension of the weak lensing formalism capable of describing strongly lensed images. By integrating the nonlinear geodesic deviation equation, the amplification matrix of weak lensing is generalised to a sum over independent amplification tensors of increasing rank. We show how an image distorted by a generic lens may be constructed as a sum over ‘roulettes’, which are the natural curves associated with the independent spin modes of the amplification tensors. Highly distorted images can be constructed even for large sources observed near or within the Einstein radius of a lens where the shear and convergence are large. The amplitude of each roulette is formed from a sum over appropriate derivatives of the lensing potential. Consequently, measuring these individual roulettes for images around a lens gives a new way to reconstruct a strong lens mass distribution without requiring a lens model. This formalism generalises the convergence, shear and flexion of weak lensing to arbitrary order, and provides a unified bridge between the strong and weak lensing regimes. This overview paper is accompanied by a much more detailed paper II, arXiv:1603.04652.

Exploiting the power of gravitationallensing, the Hubble Frontier Fields (HFF) program aims at observing six massive galaxy clusters to explore the distant universe far beyond the limits of blank field surveys. Using the complete Hubble Space Telescope observations of the first HFF cluster A2744, we report the detection of 50 galaxy candidates at z ∼ 7 and eight candidates at z ∼ 8 in a total survey area of 0.96 arcmin{sup 2} in the source plane. Three of these galaxies are multiply imaged by the lensing cluster. Using an updated model of the mass distribution in the cluster we were able to calculate the magnification factor and the effective survey volume for each galaxy in order to compute the ultraviolet galaxy luminosity function (LF) at both redshifts 7 and 8. Our new measurements reliably extend the z ∼ 7 UV LF down to an absolute magnitude of M {sub UV} ∼ –15.5. We find a characteristic magnitude of M{sub UV}{sup ⋆}=−20.90{sub −0.73}{sup +0.90} mag and a faint-end slope α=−2.01{sub −0.28}{sup +0.20}, close to previous determinations in blank fields. We show here for the first time that this slope remains steep down to very faint luminosities of 0.01 L {sup *}. Although prone to large uncertainties, our results at z ∼ 8 also seem to confirm a steep faint-end slope below 0.1 L {sup *}. The HFF program is therefore providing an extremely efficient way to study the faintest galaxy populations at z > 7 that would otherwise be inaccessible with current instrumentation. The full sample of six galaxy clusters will provide even better constraints on the buildup of galaxies at early epochs and their contribution to cosmic reionization.

A Kerr black hole with mass parameter m and angular momentum parameter a acting as a gravitational lens gives rise to two images in the weak field limit. We study the corresponding magnification relations, namely, the signed and absolute magnification sums and the centroid up to post-Newtonian order. We show that there are post-Newtonian corrections to the total absolute magnification and centroid proportional to a/m, which is in contrast to the spherically symmetric case where such corrections vanish. Hence we also propose a new set of lensing observables for the two images involving these corrections, which should allow measuring a/m with gravitationallensing. In fact, the resolution capabilities needed to observe this for the Galactic black hole should in principle be accessible to current and near-future instrumentation. Since a/m>1 indicates a naked singularity, a most interesting application would be a test of the cosmic censorship conjecture. The technique used to derive the image properties is based on the degeneracy of the Kerr lens and a suitably displaced Schwarzschild lens at post-Newtonian order. A simple physical explanation for this degeneracy is also given.

100 years after the invention of General Relativity (GR) and 110 years after the development of Special Relativity (SR) we have to state that until now no single experiment or observation allows any doubt about the validity of these theories within the accuracy of the available data. Tests of GR can be divided into three categories: (i) test of the foundations of GR, (ii) tests of the consequences of GR, and (iii) test of the interplay between GR and quantum mechanics. In the first category, we have tests of the Einstein Equivalence Principle and the structure of the Newton axioms, in the second category we have effects like the gravitational redshift, light defection, gravitational time delay, the perihelion shift, the gravitomagnetic effects as the Lense-Thirring and Schiff effect, and gravitational waves. Tests of the effects of gravity on quantum systems are a first step towards experiments searching for a quantum gravity theory. In this paper, we also highlight practical applications in positioning, geodesy, and the International Atomic Time. After 100 years, GR can now definitely be regarded also as practical and applied science.

Quasars are among the brightest objects in the universe. In rare gravitationallylensed quasars, their light is split and travels along multiple paths through an intervening lensing galaxy. The light that follows these different paths encounters various parts of the intergalactic medium (IGM) and may show different absorption features, indicating the varying composition of the IGM. By analyzing spectra from a gravitationallylensed quasar, B1422+231, observed by the Gemini North Telescope, we compare the absorption features identified in the lensed images to form a small-scale structure of the IGM.

We analyze the optical, UV, and X-ray microlensing variability of the lensed quasar SDSS J0924+0219 using six epochs of Chandra data in two energy bands (spanning 0.4-8.0 keV, or 1-20 keV in the quasar rest frame), 10 epochs of F275W (rest-frame 1089 Å) Hubble Space Telescope data, and high-cadence R-band (rest-frame 2770 Å) monitoring spanning 11 years. Our joint analysis provides robust constraints on the extent of the X-ray continuum emission region and the projected area of the accretion disk. The best-fit half-light radius of the soft X-ray continuum emission region is between 5× {10}13 and 1015 cm, and we find an upper limit of 1015 cm for the hard X-rays. The best-fit soft-band size is about 13 times smaller than the optical size, and roughly 7{{GM}}{BH}/{c}2 for a 2.8× {10}8 {M}⊙ black hole, similar to the results for other systems. We find that the UV emitting region falls in between the optical and X-ray emitting regions at 1014 cm \\lt {r}1/2,{UV}\\lt 3× {10}15 cm. Finally, the optical size is significantly larger, by 1.5σ, than the theoretical thin-disk estimate based on the observed, magnification-corrected I-band flux, suggesting a shallower temperature profile than expected for a standard disk.

Although motivation is a well-established field of study in its own right, and has been fruitfully studied in connection with attribution theory and belief formation under the heading of “motivated thinking,” its powerful and pervasive influence on specifically explanatory processes is less well explored. Where one has a strong motivation to understand some event correctly, one is thereby motivated to adhere as best one can to normative or “epistemic” criteria for correct or accurate explanation, even if one does not consciously formulate or apply such criteria. By contrast, many of our motivations to explain introduce bias into the processes involved in generating, evaluating, or giving explanations. Non-epistemic explanatory motivations, or following Kunda's usage, “directional” motivations, include self-justification, resolution of cognitive dissonance, deliberate deception, teaching, and many more. Some of these motivations lead to the relaxation or violation of epistemic norms; others enhance epistemic motivation, so that one engages in more careful and thorough generational and evaluative processes. We propose that “real life” explanatory processes are often constrained by multiple goals, epistemic and directional, where these goals may mutually reinforce one another or may conflict, and where our explanations emerge as a matter of weighing and satisfying those goals. We review emerging evidence from psychology and neuroscience to support this framework and to elucidate the central role of motivation in human thought and explanation. PMID:26528166

We present the first resolved mid-infrared (IR) (11 {mu}m) observations of the four-image quasar lens H1413+117 using the Michelle camera on Gemini North. All previous observations (optical, near-IR, and radio) of this lens show a 'flux anomaly', where the image flux ratios cannot be explained by a simple, central lens galaxy. We attempt to reproduce the mid-IR flux ratios, which are insensitive to extinction and microlensing, by modeling the main lens as a singular isothermal ellipsoid. This model fails to reproduce the flux ratios. However, we can explain the flux ratios simply by adding to the model a nearby galaxy detected in the H band by the Hubble Space Telescope. This perturbing galaxy lies 4.''0 from the main lens and it has a critical radius of 0.''63 {+-} 0.''02 which is similar to that of the main lens, as expected from their similar H-band fluxes. More remarkably, this galaxy is not required to obtain a good fit to the system astrometry, so this represents the first clear detection of an object through its effect on the image fluxes of a gravitational lens. This is a parallel to the detections of visible satellites from astrometric anomalies, and provides a proof of the concept of searching for substructure in galaxies using anomalous flux ratios.

Recent and exciting discoveries in astronomy and cosmology have inspired many high school students to learn about these fields. A particularly fascinating consequence of general relativity at the forefront of modern cosmology research is gravitationallensing, the bending of light rays that pass near massive objects. Gravitationallensing enables…

We use weak gravitationallensing to analyse the dark matter halos around satellite galaxies in galaxy groups in the CFHTLenS dataset. This dataset is derived from the CFHTLS-Wide survey, and encompasses 154 sq. deg of high-quality shape data. Using the photometric redshifts, we divide the sample of lens galaxies with stellar masses in the range 10^9 Msun to 10^10.5 Msun into those likely to lie in high-density environments (HDE) and those likely to lie in low-density environments (LDE). Through comparison with galaxy catalogues extracted from the Millennium Simulation, we show that the sample of HDE galaxies should primarily 61%) consist of satellite galaxies in groups, while the sample of LDE galaxies should consist of mostly 87%) non-satellite (field and central) galaxies. Comparing the lensing signals around samples of HDE and LDE galaxies matched in stellar mass, the lensing signal around HDE galaxies clearly shows a positive contribution from their host groups on their lensing signals at radii of ~500--1000 kpc, the typical separation between satellites and group centres. More importantly, the subhalos of HDE galaxies are less massive than those around LDE galaxies by a factor 0.65 +/- 0.12, significant at the 2.9 sigma level. A natural explanation is that the halos of satellite galaxies are stripped through tidal effects in the group environment. Our results are consistent with a typical tidal truncation radius of ~40 kpc.

Weak gravitationallensing of distant galaxies by large scale structure (LSS) provides an unbiased way to map the matter distribution in the low redshift universe. This technique, based on the measurement of small distortions in the images of the source galaxies induced by the intervening LSS, is expected to become a key cosmological probe in the future. We discuss how future lensing surveys can probe the sum of the neutrino masses at the 0 05 eV level.

The seventh part of the OGLE-III Catalog of Variable Stars (OIII-CVS) consists of 4630 classical Cepheids in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC). The sample includes 2626 fundamental-mode (F), 1644 first-overtone (1O), 83 second-overtone (2O), 59 double-mode F/1O, 215 double-mode 1O/2O, and three triple-mode classical Cepheids. For each object basic parameters, multi-epoch VI photometry collected within 8 or 13 years of observations, and finding charts are provided in the OGLE Internet archive. We present objects of particular interest: exceptionally numerous sample of single-mode second-overtone pulsators, five double Cepheids, two Cepheids with eclipsing variations superimposed on the pulsation light curves. At least 139 first-overtone Cepheids exhibit low-amplitude secondary variations with periods in the range 0.60-0.65 of the primary ones. These stars populate three distinct sequences in the Petersen diagram. The origin of this secondary modulation is still unknown. Contrary to the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) we found only a few candidates for anomalous Cepheids in the SMC. This fact may be a clue for the explanation of the origin of the anomalous Cepheids. The period and luminosity distributions of Cepheids in both Magellanic Clouds suggest that there are two or three populations of classical Cepheids in each of the galaxies. The main difference between the LMC and SMC lays in different numbers of Cepheids in each group. We fit the period-luminosity (PL) relations of SMC Cepheids and compare them with the LMC PL laws.

A lensing duct to condense (intensify) light using a combination of front surface lensing and reflective waveguiding. The duct tapers down from a wide input side to a narrow output side, with the input side being lens-shaped and coated with an antireflective coating for more efficient transmission into the duct. The four side surfaces are uncoated, preventing light from escaping by total internal reflection as it travels along the duct (reflective waveguiding). The duct has various applications for intensifying light, such as in the coupling of diode array pump light to solid state lasing materials, and can be fabricated from inexpensive glass and plastic.

A lensing duct to condense (intensify) light using a combination of front surface lensing and reflective waveguiding is described. The duct tapers down from a wide input side to a narrow output side, with the input side being lens-shaped and coated with an antireflective coating for more efficient transmission into the duct. The four side surfaces are uncoated, preventing light from escaping by total internal reflection as it travels along the duct (reflective waveguiding). The duct has various applications for intensifying light, such as in the coupling of diode array pump light to solid state lasing materials, and can be fabricated from inexpensive glass and plastic. 3 figures.

Lensing of the CMB generates a significant bispectrum, which should be detected by the Planck satellite at the 5-sigma level and is potentially a non-negligible source of bias for f{sub NL} estimators of local non-Gaussianity. We extend current understanding of the lensing bispectrum in several directions: (1) we perform a non-perturbative calculation of the lensing bispectrum which is ∼ 10% more accurate than previous, first-order calculations; (2) we demonstrate how to incorporate the signal variance of the lensing bispectrum into estimates of its amplitude, providing a good analytical explanation for previous Monte-Carlo results; and (3) we discover the existence of a significant lensing bispectrum in polarization, due to a previously-unnoticed correlation between the lensing potential and E-polarization as large as 30% at low multipoles. We use this improved understanding of the lensing bispectra to re-evaluate Fisher-matrix predictions, both for Planck and cosmic variance limited data. We confirm that the non-negligible lensing-induced bias for estimation of local non-Gaussianity should be robustly treatable, and will only inflate f{sub NL} error bars by a few percent over predictions where lensing effects are completely ignored (but note that lensing must still be accounted for to obtain unbiased constraints). We also show that the detection significance for the lensing bispectrum itself is ultimately limited to 9 sigma by cosmic variance. The tools that we develop for non-perturbative calculation of the lensing bispectrum are directly relevant to other calculations, and we give an explicit construction of a simple non-perturbative quadratic estimator for the lensing potential and relate its cross-correlation power spectrum to the bispectrum. Our numerical codes are publicly available as part of CAMB and LensPix.

In principle, the most straightforward method of estimating the Hubble constant relies on time delays between mirage images of strongly lensed sources. It is a puzzle, then, that the values of H {sub 0} obtained with this method span a range from ∼50-100 km s{sup –1}Mpc{sup –1}. Quasars monitored to measure these time delays are multi-component objects. The variability may arise from different components of the quasar or may even originate from a jet. Misidentifying a variable-emitting region in a jet with emission from the core region may introduce an error in the Hubble constant derived from a time delay. Here, we investigate the complex structure of the sources as the underlying physical explanation of the wide spread in values of the Hubble constant based on gravitationallensing. Our Monte Carlo simulations demonstrate that the derived value of the Hubble constant is very sensitive to the offset between the center of the emission and the center of the variable emitting region. Therefore, we propose using the value of H {sub 0} known from other techniques to spatially resolve the origin of the variable emission once the time delay is measured. We particularly advocate this method for gamma-ray astronomy, where the angular resolution of detectors reaches approximately 0.°1; lensed blazars offer the only route for identify the origin of gamma-ray flares. Large future samples of gravitationallylensed sources identified with Euclid, SKA, and LSST will enable a statistical determination of H {sub 0}.

JWST will dramatically advance our knowledge and understanding of the first generations of galaxies at z>10, their role in the re-ionization of the Universe, and the evolutionary processes that gave rise to the complexity and diversity of galaxies at the current epoch. As demonstrated by HST legacy projects like CLASH and the Hubble Frontier Fields, gravitational amplification by massive galaxy clusters can significantly extend the depth of the required observations. However, for JWST, reducing any diffuse background light will be just as crucial. We here propose Spitzer/IRAC observations of six massive cluster lenses, specifically selected as candidates for observation with JWST. By (a) quantifying the amount of intra-cluster light and (b) enabling us to improve our current lens models, the data resulting from the requested observations will be instrumental for the final selection of cluster targets that maximize the scientific returns of deep JWST observations.

It is demonstrated, by an explicit calculation, that a single, isolated Schwarzschild gravitational lens leads to a vanishing net total amplification on its own, without any 'help' from other lenses. It is shown that, in the limit of small M/R (where M is the mass of the lens in geometrical units and R is the distance from the source to the observers), the positive net total amplification, obtained from the classical approximation of the amplification for small impact angle lensing, is balanced by a negative net total amplification from the first-order term in M/R in an approximation of the amplification for large impact angle lensing derived here. The relation of these results to the common interpretation of average flux conservation by gravitationallenses is discussed as due to the collective action of many lenses in a cosmological framework.

We use single-epoch spectroscopy of three gravitationallylensed quasars, HE 0435-1223, WFI 2033-4723, and HE 2149-2745, to study their inner structure (broad-line region [BLR] and continuum source). We detect microlensing-induced magnification in the wings of the broad emission lines of two of the systems (HE 0435-1223 and WFI 2033-4723). In the case of WFI 2033-4723, microlensing affects two “bumps” in the spectra that are almost symmetrically arranged on the blue (coincident with an Al iii emission line) and red wings of C iii]. These match the typical double-peaked profile that follows from disk kinematics. The presence of microlensing in the wings of the emission lines indicates the existence of two different regions in the BLR: a relatively small one with kinematics possibly related to an accretion disk, and another one that is substantially more extended and insensitive to microlensing. There is good agreement between the estimated size of the region affected by microlensing in the emission lines, {r}s={10}-7+15\\sqrt{M/{M}ȯ } lt-day (red wing of C iv in HE 0435-1223) and {r}s={11}-7+28\\sqrt{M/{M}ȯ } lt-day (C iii] bumps in WFI 2033-4723), and the sizes inferred from the continuum emission, {r}s={13}-4+5\\sqrt{M/{M}ȯ } lt-day (HE 0435-1223) and {r}s={10}-2+3\\sqrt{M/{M}ȯ } lt-day (WFI 2033-4723). For HE 2149-2745 we measure an accretion disk size {r}s={8}-5+11\\sqrt{M/{M}ȯ } lt-day. The estimates of p, the exponent of the size versus wavelength ({r}s\\propto {λ }p), are 1.2 ± 0.6, 0.8 ± 0.2, and 0.4 ± 0.3 for HE 0435-1223, WFI 2033-4723, and HE 2149-2745, respectively. In conclusion, the continuum microlensing amplitude in the three quasars and chromaticity in WFI 2033-4723 and HE 2149-2745 are below expectations for the thin-disk model. The disks are larger and their temperature gradients are flatter than predicted by this model.

We use weak gravitationallensing to analyse the dark matter haloes around satellite galaxies in galaxy groups in the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope Lensing Survey (CFHTLenS) data set. This data set is derived from the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope Legacy Survey Wide survey, and encompasses 154 deg2 of high-quality shape data. Using the photometric redshifts, we divide the sample of lens galaxies with stellar masses in the range 109-1010.5 M⊙ into those likely to lie in high-density environments (HDE) and those likely to lie in low-density environments (LDE). Through comparison with galaxy catalogues extracted from the Millennium Simulation, we show that the sample of HDE galaxies should primarily (˜61 per cent) consist of satellite galaxies in groups, while the sample of LDE galaxies should consist of mostly (˜87 per cent) non-satellite (field and central) galaxies. Comparing the lensing signals around samples of HDE and LDE galaxies matched in stellar mass, the lensing signal around HDE galaxies clearly shows a positive contribution from their host groups on their lensing signals at radii of ˜500-1000 kpc, the typical separation between satellites and group centres. More importantly, the subhaloes of HDE galaxies are less massive than those around LDE galaxies by a factor of 0.65 ± 0.12, significant at the 2.9σ level. A natural explanation is that the haloes of satellite galaxies are stripped through tidal effects in the group environment. Our results are consistent with a typical tidal truncation radius of ˜40 kpc.

I summarise recent results on multi-wavelength properties of distant lensed galaxies, with a particular focus on Herschel. Submm surveys have already resulted in a breakthrough discovery of an extremely efficient selection technique for strong gravitationallenses. Benefitting from the gravitational magnification boost, blind mm-wave redshifts have been demonstrated on IRAM, SMA and GBT, and follow-up emission line detections have been made of water, [Oiii], [Cii] and other species, revealing the PDR/XDR/CRDR conditions. I also discuss HST imaging of submm lenses, lensed galaxy reconstruction, the prospects for ALMA and e-Merlin and the effects of differential magnification. Many emission line diagnostics are relatively unaffected by differential magnification, but SED-based estimates of bolometric fractions in lensed infrared galaxies are so unreliable as to be useless, unless a lens mass model is available to correct for differential amplification.

The Frontier Fields {FF} are using galaxy cluster gravitationallensing to boost the powers of Hubble and Spitzer to reveal the faintest galaxies yet observed. Accurate gravitationallensing models with uncertainty estimates are required to study some of the physical parameters of the lensed galaxies. Simulated HST observations of lensing clusters with known mass distributions are ideal to determine the accuracies of these modeling methods. Our team has begun performing these tests, demonstrating that integrated quantities such as lensed number counts are accurately recovered, enabling luminosity functions to be constrained. We have also begun to quantify magnification uncertainties for individual galaxies, but additional tests are needed. Here we propose to create a set of simulated osbervations of clusters selected to be analogs of the CLASH and FF clusters. They will include lensing effects and they will be delivered to the Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes as a legacy product for others to analyze. They will be usable to extend our tests for robustly determine the accuracies in model magnification and mass measurements. Mass uncertainties will be a key ingredient in efforts to use galaxy clusters to constrain cosmology and theories of structure formation. Results from this program will also be useful to improve lens modeling methods toward more optimal use of the large numbers of lensing constraints available in deep FF imaging. This program will help astronomers realize the full potential of the large investments of Hubble, Spitzer, Chandra, and ground-based observing time in the FF, CLASH, and other past and future cluster lensing observations.

... dientes Video: Getting an X-ray Glasses and Contact Lenses KidsHealth > For Kids > Glasses and Contact Lenses Print A A A What's in this ... together the way they should. But eyeglasses or contact lenses, also called corrective lenses, can help most ...

Gravitationallensing is a powerful astrophysical and cosmological probe and is particularly valuable at submillimeter wavelengths for the study of the statistical and individual properties of dusty star-forming galaxies. However, the identification of gravitationallenses is often time-intensive, involving the sifting of large volumes of imaging or spectroscopic data to find few candidates. We used early data from the Herschel Astrophysical Terahertz Large Area Survey to demonstrate that wide-area submillimeter surveys can simply and easily detect strong gravitationallensing events, with close to 100% efficiency.

Gravitationallensing is a powerful astrophysical and cosmological probe and is particularly valuable at submillimeter wavelengths for the study of the statistical and individual properties of dusty star-forming galaxies. However, the identification of gravitationallenses is often time-intensive, involving the sifting of large volumes of imaging or spectroscopic data to find few candidates. We used early data from the Herschel Astrophysical Terahertz Large Area Survey to demonstrate that wide-area submillimeter surveys can simply and easily detect strong gravitationallensing events, with close to 100% efficiency.

Images of the gravitational lens system G2237 + 0305 have been obtained with the Faint Object Camera on board the Hubble Space Telescope. A preliminary analysis of these images is reported here and includes measurements of the relative positions and magnitudes of the lensed images of the QSO, and of the lensing galaxy. No evidence is found for a fifth lensed image.

The challenge to understand the physical origin of the cosmic acceleration is framed as a problem of gravitation. Specifically, does the relationship between stress-energy and space-time curvature differ on large scales from the predictions of general relativity. In this article, we describe efforts to model and test a generalized relationship between the matter and the metric using cosmological observations. Late-time tracers of large-scale structure, including the cosmic microwave background, weak gravitationallensing, and clustering are shown to provide good tests of the proposed solution. Current data are very close to proving a critical test, leaving only a small window in parameter space in the case that the generalized relationship is scale free above galactic scales.

Here we present the weak lensing results of A1758, which is known to have four cluster members undergoing two separate mergers, A1758N and A1758S. Weak lensing results of A1758N agree with previous weak lensing results of clusters lE0657-558 (Bullet cluster) and MACS J0025.4-1222, whose X-ray gas components were found to be largely separated from their clusters' gravitational potentials. A1758N has a geometry that is different from previously published mergers in that one of its X-ray peaks overlays the corresponding gravitational potential and the other X-ray peak is well separated from its cluster's gravitational potential.

We present the results of our search for gravitationallylensed quasars in the OGLE survey. We show one best candidate from a 670 square degrees area behind the Magellanic Clouds System. The study of strong lensing time delays serves as a powerful probe in cosmology. The OGLE database provides long time light curves, allowing for a cost-effective way to accurately derive time delays and therefore study the Hubble constant.

In this paper, we assemble a catalog of 118 strong gravitationallensing systems from the Sloan Lens ACS Survey, BOSS emission-line lens survey, Lens Structure and Dynamics, and Strong Lensing Legacy Survey and use them to constrain the cosmic equation of state. In particular, we consider two cases of dark energy phenomenology: the XCDM model, where dark energy is modeled by a fluid with constant w equation-of-state parameter, and in the Chevalier-Polarski-Linder (CPL) parameterization, where w is allowed to evolve with redshift, w(z)={{w}0}+{{w}1}\\frac{z}{1 + z} . We assume spherically symmetric mass distribution in lensing galaxies, but we relax the rigid assumption of the SIS model in favor of a more general power-law index γ, also allowing it to evolve with redshifts γ (z). Our results for the XCDM cosmology show agreement with values (concerning both w and γ parameters) obtained by other authors. We go further and constrain the CPL parameters jointly with γ (z). The resulting confidence regions for the parameters are much better than those obtained with a similar method in the past. They are also showing a trend of being complementary to the Type Ia supernova data. Our analysis demonstrates that strong gravitationallensing systems can be used to probe cosmological parameters like the cosmic equation of state for dark energy. Moreover, they have a potential to judge whether the cosmic equation of state evolved with time or not.

Teleological explanations (TEs) account for the existence or properties of an entity in terms of a function: we have hearts because they pump blood, and telephones for communication. While many teleological explanations seem appropriate, others are clearly not warranted--for example, that rain exists for plants to grow. Five experiments explore…

Weak gravitationallensing leaves a characteristic imprint on the cosmic microwave background temperature and polarization angular power spectra. Here, we investigate the possible constraints on the integrated lensing potential from future cosmic microwave background angular spectra measurements expected from Planck and EPIC. We find that Planck and EPIC will constrain the amplitude of the integrated projected potential responsible for lensing at 6% and 1% level, respectively, with very little sensitivity to the shape of the lensing potential. We discuss the implications of such a measurement in constraining dark energy and modified gravity scalar-tensor theories. We then discuss the impact of a wrong assumption on the weak lensing potential amplitude on cosmological parameter inference.

It is shown that when an equal-arm Michelson interferometer is involved in rotation (for example, Earth's rotation around its axis or around the Sun) and its arms are oriented differently with respect to the plane of rotation, a phase difference arises between the light rays that pass through different arms. This phase difference is due to the fact that the arms experience variously the Newtonian (nonrelativistic) scalar gravitational potential of the Coriolis forces. It is shown that the phase difference is proportional to the length of the interferometer arm, the square of the angular velocity of the rotation, and the square of the distance from the center of rotation — hence, the proposal to call this phenomenon the quadratic Sagnac effect. In the present paper, we consider, as an illustrative example, the results of the once well-known experiments of D C Miller, who claimed to observe the translational motion of Earth relative to the hypothetical ‘luminiferous ether’. It is shown that this claim can actually be explained by the fact that, because of the orbital revolution of Earth, the time dilations in the orthogonal arms of the Michelson interferometer are influenced differently by the scalar gravitational potential of the Coriolis forces.

We investigate the weak lensing corrections to the cosmic microwave background temperature anisotropies considering effects beyond the Born approximation. To this aim, we use the small deflection angle approximation, to connect the lensed and unlensed power spectra, via expressions for the deflection angles up to third order in the gravitational potential. While the small deflection angle approximation has the drawback to be reliable only for multipoles l lesssim 2500, it allows us to consistently take into account the non-Gaussian nature of cosmological perturbation theory beyond the linear level. The contribution to the lensed temperature power spectrum coming from the non-Gaussian nature of the deflection angle at higher order is a new effect which has not been taken into account in the literature so far. It turns out to be the leading contribution among the post-Born lensing corrections. On the other hand, the effect is smaller than corrections coming from non-linearities in the matter power spectrum, and its imprint on CMB lensing is too small to be seen in present experiments.

Weak gravitationallensing has proven to be a powerful tool to map directly the distribution of dark matter in the universe. The technique, currently used, relies on the accurate measurement of the gravitational shear that corresponds to the first-order distortion of the background galaxy images. More recently, a new technique has been introduced that relies on the accurate measurement of the gravitational flexion that corresponds to the second-order distortion of the background galaxy images. This technique should probe structures on smaller scales than that of shear analysis. The goal of this paper is to compare the ability of shear and flexion to reconstruct the dark matter distribution by taking into account the dispersion in shear and flexion measurements. Our results show that the flexion is less sensitive than shear for constructing the convergence maps on scales that are physically feasible for mapping, meaning that flexion alone should not be used to do convergence map reconstruction, even on small scales.

If really such objects like cosmological black holes exist they may be studied with a standard technique like strong and weak gravitationallensing. Cosmological voids can be explained as the result the collapse of large perturbations into black hole with masses of the order of 1014 M ⊙ and the expansion of the universe. The resulting image of the universe is that it is more homogeneous than expected from present observations. In this paper we discuss some lensing properties related to the cosmological black holes (CBHs), namely we consider differences in gravitationallensing for point like mass and extended mass distributions. We consider the singular isothermal sphere model as a toy (illustrative) model for an extended distribution of dark matter and a slightly more complicated isothermal sphere with a core.

We describe a new method for measuring galaxy magnification due to weak gravitationallensing. Our method makes use of a tight scaling relation between galaxy properties that are modified by gravitationallensing, such as apparent size, and other properties that are not, such as surface brightness. In particular, we use a version of the well-known fundamental plane relation for early-type galaxies. This modified ''photometric fundamental plane'' uses only photometric galaxy properties, eliminating the need for spectroscopic data. We present the first detection of magnification using this method by applying it to photometric catalogs from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. This analysis shows that the derived magnification signal is within a factor of three of that available from conventional methods using gravitational shear. We suppress the dominant sources of systematic error and discuss modest improvements that may further enhance the lensing signal-to-noise available with this method. Moreover, some of the dominant sources of systematic error are substantially different from those of shear-based techniques. With this new technique, magnification becomes a useful measurement tool for the coming era of large ground-based surveys intending to measure gravitationallensing.

Type Ia supernovae that have multiple images due to gravitationallensing can provide us with a wealth of information both about the supernovae themselves and about our surrounding universe. But how can we find these rare explosions?Clues from Multiple ImagesWhen light from a distant object passes by a massive foreground galaxy, the galaxys strong gravitational pull can bend the light, distorting our view of the backgroundobject. In severe cases, this process can cause multiple images of the distant object to appear in the foreground lensing galaxy.An illustration of gravitationallensing. Light from the distant supernova is bent as it passes through a giant elliptical galaxy in the foreground, causing multiple images of the supernova to appear to be hosted by the elliptical galaxy. [Adapted from image by NASA/ESA/A. Feild (STScI)]Observations of multiply-imaged Type Ia supernovae (explosions that occur when white dwarfs in binary systems exceed their maximum allowed mass) could answer a number of astronomical questions. Because Type Ia supernovae are standard candles, distant, lensed Type Ia supernovae can be used to extend the Hubble diagram to high redshifts. Furthermore, the lensing time delays from the multiply-imaged explosion can provide high-precision constraints on cosmological parameters.The catch? So far, weve only found one multiply-imaged Type Ia supernova: iPTF16geu, discovered late last year. Were going to need a lot more of them to develop a useful sample! So how do we identify themutiply-imaged Type Ias among the many billions of fleeting events discovered in current and future surveys of transients?Searching for AnomaliesAbsolute magnitudes for Type Ia supernovae in elliptical galaxies. None are expected to be above -20 in the B band, so if we calculate a magnitude for a Type Ia supernova thats larger than this, its probably not hosted by the galaxy we think it is! [Goldstein Nugent 2017]Two scientists from University of California, Berkeley and

We study the effects of gravitationallensing by galaxy clusters of the background of dusty star-forming galaxies (DSFGs) and the cosmic microwave background (CMB), and examine the implications for Sunyaev-Zel'dovich-based (SZ) galaxy cluster surveys. At the locations of galaxy clusters, gravitationallensing modifies the probability distribution of the background flux of the DSFGs as well as the CMB. We find that, in the case of a single-frequency 150 GHz survey, lensing of DSFGs leads both to a slight increase ({approx}10%) in detected cluster number counts (due to a {approx}50% increase in the variance of the DSFG background, and hence an increased Eddington bias) and a rare (occurring in {approx}2% of clusters) 'filling-in' of SZ cluster signals by bright strongly lensed background sources. Lensing of the CMB leads to a {approx}55% reduction in CMB power at the location of massive galaxy clusters in a spatially matched single-frequency filter, leading to a net decrease in detected cluster number counts. We find that the increase in DSFG power and decrease in CMB power due to lensing at cluster locations largely cancel, such that the net effect on cluster number counts for current SZ surveys is subdominant to Poisson errors.

Typical lenses suffer from Fresnel reflections at their surfaces, reducing the transmitted power and leading to interference phenomena. While antireflection coatings can efficiently suppress these reflections for a small frequency window, broadband antireflection coatings remain challenging. In this paper, we report on the simulation and experimental investigation of Brewster lenses in the THz-range. These lenses can be operated under the Brewster angle, ensuring reflection-free transmission of p-polarized light in an extremely broad spectral range. Experimental proof of the excellent focusing capabilities of the Brewster lenses is given by frequency and spatially resolved focus plane measurements using a fiber-coupled THz-TDS system.

Balloon measurements were made of the far infrared background radiation. The radiometer used and its calibration are discussed. An electromagnetically coupled broadband gravitational antenna is also considered. The proposed antenna design and noise sources in the antenna are reviewed. A comparison is made between interferometric broadband and resonant bar antennas for the detection of gravitational wave pulses.

The existence of a special gravitational vacuum is considered in this paper. A phenomenological method differing from the traditional Einsteinian formalization is utilized. Vacuum, metric and matter form a complex determined by field equations and at great distances from gravitational masses vacuum effects are small but could be large in powerful fields. Singularities and black holes justify the approach as well as the Ambartsmyan theory concerning the existence of supermassive and superdense prestallar bodies that then disintegrate. A theory for these superdense bodies is developed involving gravitational field equations that describe the vacuum by an energy momentum tensor and define the field and mass distribution. Computations based on the theory for gravitational radii with incompressible liquid models adequately reflecting real conditions indicate that a gravitational vacuum could have considerable effects on superdense stars and could have radical effects for very large masses.

Weak gravitationallensing provides a unique way of mapping directly the dark matter in the Universe. The majority of lensing analyses use the two-point statistics of the cosmic shear field to constrain the cosmological model, a method that is affected by degeneracies, such as that between σ8 and Ωm which are respectively the rms of the mass fluctuations on a scale of 8 Mpc/h and the matter density parameter, both at z = 0. However, the two-point statistics only measure the Gaussian properties of the field, and the weak lensing field is non-Gaussian. It has been shown that the estimation of non-Gaussian statistics for weak lensing data can improve the constraints on cosmological parameters. In this paper, we systematically compare a wide range of non-Gaussian estimators to determine which one provides tighter constraints on the cosmological parameters. These statistical methods include skewness, kurtosis, and the higher criticism test, in several sparse representations such as wavelet and curvelet; as well as the bispectrum, peak counting, and a newly introduced statistic called wavelet peak counting (WPC). Comparisons based on sparse representations indicate that the wavelet transform is the most sensitive to non-Gaussian cosmological structures. It also appears that the most helpful statistic for non-Gaussian characterization in weak lensing mass maps is the WPC. Finally, we show that the σ8 - Ωm degeneracy could be even better broken if the WPC estimation is performed on weak lensing mass maps filtered by the wavelet method, MRLens.

Weak gravitationallensing provides a unique way of mapping directly the dark matter in the Universe. The majority of lensing analyses use the two-point statistics of the cosmic shear field to constrain the cosmological model, a method that is affected by degeneracies, such as that between σ8 and Ωm which are respectively the rms of the mass fluctuations on a scale of 8 Mpc/h and the matter density parameter, both at z = 0. However, the two-point statistics only measure the Gaussian properties of the field, and the weak lensing field is non-Gaussian. It has been shown that the estimation of non-Gaussian statistics for weak lensing data can improve the constraints on cosmological parameters. In this paper, we systematically compare a wide range of non-Gaussian estimators to determine which one provides tighter constraints on the cosmological parameters. These statistical methods include skewness, kurtosis, and the higher criticism test, in several sparse representations such as wavelet and curvelet; as well as the bispectrum, peak counting, and a newly introduced statistic called wavelet peak counting (WPC). Comparisons based on sparse representations indicate that the wavelet transform is the most sensitive to non-Gaussian cosmological structures. It also appears that the most helpful statistic for non-Gaussian characterization in weak lensing mass maps is the WPC. Finally, we show that the σ8-Ωm degeneracy could be even better broken if the WPC estimation is performed on weak lensing mass maps filtered by the wavelet method, MRLens.

We present the first results of the SOAR Gravitational Arc Survey (SOGRAS). The survey imaged 47 clusters in two redshift intervals centered at z=0.27 and z=0.55, targeting the richest clusters in each interval. Images were obtained in the g', r' and i' bands with a median seeing of 0.83, 0.76 and 0.71 arcsec, respectively, in these filters. Most of the survey clusters are located within the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Stripe-82 region and all of them are in the SDSS footprint. We present the first results of the survey, including the 6 best strong lensing systems, photometric and morphometric catalogs of the galaxy sample, and cross matches of the clusters and galaxies with complementary samples (spectroscopic redshifts, photometry in several bands, X-ray and Sunyaev Zel'dovich clusters, etc.), exploiting the synergy with other surveys in Stripe-82. We apply several methods to characterize the gravitational arc candidates, including the Mediatrix method (Bom et al. 2012) and ArcFitting (Furlanetto et al. 2012), and for the subtraction of galaxy cluster light. Finally, we apply strong lensing inversion techniques to the best systems, providing constraints on their mass distribution. The analyses of a spectral follow-up with Gemini and the derived dynamical masses are presented in a poster submitted to this same meeting (Cibirka et al.). Deeper follow-up images with Gemini strengthen the case for the strong lensing nature of the candidates found in this survey.

We present evidence of the gravitationallensing of the cosmic microwave background by 10(13) solar mass dark matter halos. Lensing convergence maps from the Atacama Cosmology Telescope Polarimeter (ACTPol) are stacked at the positions of around 12 000 optically selected CMASS galaxies from the SDSS-III/BOSS survey. The mean lensing signal is consistent with simulated dark matter halo profiles and is favored over a null signal at 3.2σ significance. This result demonstrates the potential of microwave background lensing to probe the dark matter distribution in galaxy group and galaxy cluster halos.

People are habitual explanation generators. At its most mundane, our propensity to explain allows us to infer that we should not drink milk that smells sour; at the other extreme, it allows us to establish facts (e.g., theorems in mathematical logic) whose truth was not even known prior to the existence of the explanation (proof). What do the cognitive operations underlying the inference that the milk is sour have in common with the proof that, say, the square root of two is irrational? Our ability to generate explanations bears striking similarities to our ability to make analogies. Both reflect a capacity to generate inferences and generalizations that go beyond the featural similarities between a novel problem and familiar problems in terms of which the novel problem may be understood. However, a notable difference between analogy-making and explanation-generation is that the former is a process in which a single source situation is used to reason about a single target, whereas the latter often requires the reasoner to integrate multiple sources of knowledge. This seemingly small difference poses a challenge to the task of marshaling our understanding of analogical reasoning to understanding explanation. We describe a model of explanation, derived from a model of analogy, adapted to permit systematic violations of this one-to-one mapping constraint. Simulation results demonstrate that the resulting model can generate explanations for novel explananda and that, like the explanations generated by human reasoners, these explanations vary in their coherence.

People are habitual explanation generators. At its most mundane, our propensity to explain allows us to infer that we should not drink milk that smells sour; at the other extreme, it allows us to establish facts (e.g., theorems in mathematical logic) whose truth was not even known prior to the existence of the explanation (proof). What do the cognitive operations underlying the inference that the milk is sour have in common with the proof that, say, the square root of two is irrational? Our ability to generate explanations bears striking similarities to our ability to make analogies. Both reflect a capacity to generate inferences and generalizations that go beyond the featural similarities between a novel problem and familiar problems in terms of which the novel problem may be understood. However, a notable difference between analogy-making and explanation-generation is that the former is a process in which a single source situation is used to reason about a single target, whereas the latter often requires the reasoner to integrate multiple sources of knowledge. This seemingly small difference poses a challenge to the task of marshaling our understanding of analogical reasoning to understanding explanation. We describe a model of explanation, derived from a model of analogy, adapted to permit systematic violations of this one-to-one mapping constraint. Simulation results demonstrate that the resulting model can generate explanations for novel explananda and that, like the explanations generated by human reasoners, these explanations vary in their coherence. PMID:25414655

Recently, Holz & Wald have presented a new method for determining gravitationallensing effects on, e.g., supernova luminosity versus redshift measurements in inhomogeneous universes. In this paper, their method is generalized in several ways: First, the matter content is allowed to consist of several different types of fluids, possibly with non-vanishing pressure. Second, besides lensing by simple point masses and singular isothermal spheres, the more realistic halo dark matter distribution proposed by Navarro, Frenk & White (NFW), based on N-body simulation results, is treated. We discuss various aspects of the accuracy of the method, such as luminosity corrections, and statistics, for multiple images. We find in agreement with other recent work that a large sample of supernovae at large redshift could be used to extract gross features of the mass distribution of the lensing dark matter halos, such as the existence of a large number of point-like objects. The results for the isothermal sphere and the NFW model are, however, very similar if normalized to the observed luminosity distribution of galaxies. We give convenient analytical fitting formulas for our computed lensing probabilites as a function of magnification, for several redshifts.

Gravitationallensing has long been considered as a valuable tool to determine the total mass of galaxy clusters. The shear profile, as inferred from the statistics of ellipticity of background galaxies, allows us to probe the cluster intermediate and outer regions, thus determining the virial mass estimate. However, the mass sheet degeneracy and the need for a large number of background galaxies motivate the search for alternative tracers which can break the degeneracy among model parameters and hence improve the accuracy of the mass estimate. Lensing flexion, i.e. the third derivative of the lensing potential, has been suggested as a good answer to the above quest since it probes the details of the mass profile. We investigate here whether this is indeed the case considering jointly using weak lensing, magnification and flexion. We use a Fisher matrix analysis to forecast the relative improvement in the mass accuracy for different assumptions on the shear and flexion signal-to- noise (S/N) ratio also varying the cluster mass, redshift, and ellipticity. It turns out that the error on the cluster mass may be reduced up to a factor of ˜2 for reasonable values of the flexion S/N ratio. As a general result, we get that the improvement in mass accuracy is larger for more flattened haloes, but it extracting general trends is difficult because of the many parameters at play. We nevertheless find that flexion is as efficient as magnification to increase the accuracy in both mass and concentration determination.

When parents and teachers help gifted kids use the metaphor "learning through different lenses," amazing things happen: Horizons open up. Ideas are focused. Thoughts are magnified and clarified. They see the big picture. Metaphoric thinking offers new and exciting ways to see the world. Viewing the world through different lenses provides…

A deep understanding of students' learning processes is one of the core challenges of research in mathematics education. To achieve this, different theoretical lenses are available. The question is how these different lenses compare and contrast, and how they can be coordinated and combined to provide a more comprehensive view on the topic of…

A review of the use of aspherics in the last decades, understood in a broad sense as encompassing single-vision lenses with conicoid surfaces and free-form and progressive addition lenses (PALs) as well, is provided. The appearance of conicoid surfaces to correct aphakia and later to provide thinner and more aesthetically appealing plus lenses and the introduction of PALs and free-form surfaces have shaped the advances in spectacle lenses in the last three decades. This document basically considers the main target optical aberrations, the idiosyncrasy of single lenses for correction of refractive errors and the restrictions and particularities of PAL design and their links to science vision and perception.

This paper deals with the factors that influence the weight of an object near the Earth's surface. They are: (1) the Earth's gravitational force, (2) the centrifugal force due to the Earth's diurnal rotation, and (3) tidal forces due to the gravitational field of the Moon and Sun, and other solar system bodies to a lesser extent. Each of these three contributions is discussed and expressions are derived. The relationship between weight and gravitation is thus established in a direct and pedagogical manner readily understandable by undergraduate students. The analysis applies to the Newtonian limit of gravitation. The derivation is based on an experimental (or operational) definition of weight, and it is shown that it coincides with the Earth’s gravitational force modified by diurnal rotation around a polar axis and non-uniformity of external gravitational bodies (tidal term). Two examples illustrate and quantify these modifications, respectively the Eötvös effect and the oceanic tides; tidal forces due to differential gravitation on a spacecraft and an asteroid are also proposed as examples. Considerations about inertia are also given and some comments are made about a widespread, yet confusing, explanation of tides based on a centrifugal force. Finally, the expression of the potential energy of the tide-generating force is established rigorously in the appendix.

Since the classical authors of the nineteenth century, the explanation of macro-social phenomena has been considered as the essential epistemic achievement, hence the "raison d'etre," of comparative analysis in the social sciences. In practice, however, the claims of comparative social enquiry for providing convincing explanations are…

Squeezed primordial non-Gaussianity can strongly constrain early-universe physics, but it can only be observed on the CMB after it has been gravitationallylensed. We give a new simple non-perturbative prescription for accurately calculating the effect of lensing on any squeezed primordial bispectrum shape, and test it with simulations. We give the generalization to polarization bispectra, and discuss the effect of lensing on the trispectrum. We explain why neglecting the lensing smoothing effect does not significantly bias estimators of local primordial non-Gaussianity, even though the change in shape can be ∼>10%. We also show how τ{sub NL} trispectrum estimators can be well approximated by much simpler CMB temperature modulation estimators, and hence that there is potentially a ∼ 10–30% bias due to very large-scale lensing modes, depending on the range of modulation scales included. Including dipole sky modulations can halve the τ{sub NL} error bar if kinematic effects can be subtracted using known properties of the CMB temperature dipole. Lensing effects on the g{sub NL} trispectrum are small compared to the error bar. In appendices we give the general result for lensing of any primordial bispectrum, and show how any full-sky squeezed bispectrum can be decomposed into orthogonal modes of distinct angular dependence.

Novel sensorimotor situations present a unique challenge to an individual's adaptive ability. Using the simple and easily measured paradigm of visual-motor rearrangement created by the use of visual displacement lenses, we sought to determine whether an individual's ability to adapt to visuo-motor discordance could be improved through training. Subjects threw small balls at a stationary target during a 3-week practice regimen involving repeated exposure to one set of lenses in block practice (x 2.0 magnifying lenses), multiple sets of lenses in variable practice (x 2.0 magnifying, x 0.5 minifying and up-down reversing lenses) or sham lenses. At the end of training, adaptation to a novel visuo-motor situation (20-degree right shift lenses) was tested. We found that (1) training with variable practice can increase adaptability to a novel visuo-motor situation, (2) increased adaptability is retained for at least 1 month and is transferable to further novel visuo-motor permutations and (3) variable practice improves performance of a simple motor task even in the undisturbed state. These results have implications for the design of clinical rehabilitation programs and countermeasures to enhance astronaut adaptability, facilitating adaptive transitions between gravitational environments.

We construct solutions of the 3 + 1 dimensional Faddeev–Skyrme model coupled to Einstein gravity. The solutions are static and asymptotically flat. They are characterized by a topological Hopf number. We investigate the dependence of the ADM masses of gravitating Hopfions on the gravitational coupling. When gravity is coupled to flat space solutions, a branch of gravitating Hopfion solutions arises and merges at a maximal value of the coupling constant with a second branch of solutions. This upper branch has no flat space limit. Instead, in the limit of a vanishing coupling constant, it connects to either the Bartnik–McKinnon or a generalized Bartnik–McKinnon solution. We further find that in the strong-coupling limit, there is no difference between the gravitating solitons of the Skyrme model and the Faddeev–Skyrme model.

Correlations of galaxy ellipticities with large-scale structure, due to galactic tidal interactions, provide a potentially significant contaminant to measurements of cosmic shear. However, these intrinsic alignments are still poorly understood for galaxies at the redshifts typically used in cosmic shear analyses. For spiral galaxies, it is thought that tidal torquing is significant in determining alignments resulting in zero correlation between the intrinsic ellipticity and the gravitational potential in linear theory. Here, we calculate the leading-order correction to this result in the tidal-torque model from non-linear evolution, using second-order perturbation theory, and relate this to the contamination from intrinsic alignments to the recently measured cross-correlation between galaxy ellipticities and the cosmic microwave background (CMB) lensing potential. On the scales relevant for CMB lensing observations, the squeezed limit of the gravitational bispectrum dominates the correlation. Physically, the large-scale mode that sources CMB lensing modulates the small-scale power and hence the intrinsic ellipticity, due to non-linear evolution. We find that the angular cross-correlation from tidal torquing has a very similar scale dependence as in the linear alignment model, believed to be appropriate for elliptical galaxies. The amplitude of the cross-correlation is predicted to depend strongly on the formation redshift, being smaller for galaxies that formed at higher redshift when the bispectrum of the gravitational potential was smaller. Finally, we make simple forecasts for constraints on intrinsic alignments from the correlation of forthcoming cosmic shear measurements with current CMB lensing measurements. We note that cosmic variance can be significantly reduced in measurements of the difference in the intrinsic alignments for elliptical and spiral galaxies if these types can be separated (e.g. using colour).

We study the linear post-Newtonian approximation to general relativity known as gravitoelectromagnetism (GEM); in particular, we examine the similarities and differences between GEM and electrodynamics. Notwithstanding some significant differences between them, we find that a special nonstationary metric in GEM can be employed to show explicitly that it is possible to introduce gravitational induction within GEM in close analogy with Faraday's law of induction and Lenz's law in electrodynamics. Some of the physical implications of gravitational induction are briefly discussed.

A stochastic gravitational wave background (SGWB) would gravitationally lens the cosmic microwave background (CMB) photons. We correct the results provided in existing literature for modifications to the CMB polarization power spectra due to lensing by gravitational waves. Weak lensing by gravitational waves distorts all four CMB power spectra; however, its effect is most striking in the mixing of power between the E mode and B mode of CMB polarization. This suggests the possibility of using measurements of the CMB angular power spectra to constrain the energy density (Ω(GW)) of the SGWB. Using current data sets (QUAD, WMAP, and ACT), we find that the most stringent constraints on the present Ω(GW) come from measurements of the angular power spectra of CMB temperature anisotropies. In the near future, more stringent bounds on Ω(GW) can be expected with improved upper limits on the B modes of CMB polarization. Any detection of B modes of CMB polarization above the expected signal from large scale structure lensing could be a signal for a SGWB.

The search for the curl component (B mode) in the cosmic microwave background (CMB) polarization induced by inflationary gravitational waves is described. The canonical single-field slow-roll model of inflation is presented, and we explain the quantum production of primordial density perturbations and gravitational waves. It is shown how these gravitational waves then give rise to polarization in the CMB. We then describe the geometric decomposition of the CMB polarization pattern into a curl-free component (E mode) and curl component (B mode) and show explicitly that gravitational waves induce B modes. We discuss the B modes induced by gravitationallensing and by Galactic foregrounds and show how both are distinguished from those induced by inflationary gravitational waves. Issues involved in the experimental pursuit of these B modes are described, and we summarize some of the strategies being pursued. We close with a brief discussion of some other avenues toward detecting/characterizing the inflationary gravitational-wave background.

An Ames Research Center scientist invented an infrared lens used in sunglasses to filter out ultraviolet rays. This product finds its origins in research for military enemy detection. Through a Space Act Agreement, Optical Sales Corporation introduced the Hawkeye Lenses not only as sunglasses but as plant stress detection lenses. The lenses enhance the stressed part of the leaf, which has less chlorophyll than healthy leaves, through dyes that filter out certain wavelengths of light. Plant stress is visible earlier, at a stage when something can be done to save the plants.

Past research has established a relationship between awe and explanatory frameworks, such as religion. We extend this work, showing (a) the effects of awe on a separate source of explanation: attitudes toward science, and (b) how the effects of awe on attitudes toward scientific explanations depend on individual differences in theism. Across 3 studies, we find consistent support that awe decreases the perceived explanatory power of science for the theistic (Study 1 and 2) and mixed support that awe affects attitudes toward scientific explanations for the nontheistic (Study 3). (PsycINFO Database Record

A VLA survey designed to detect gravitationallensing on sub-arc second and arc second scales is described, and preliminary results of radio data are presented. In particular, it is found that the density of matter in the form of a uniform comoving number density of 10 to the 11th - 10 to the 12th solar mass compact objects, luminous or dark, must be substantially less than the critical density. Data obtained for the radio source 1042+178 are briefly examined.

Gravitational wave emission from stellar collapse has been studied for more than three decades. Current state-of-the-art numerical investigations of collapse include those that use progenitors with more realistic angular momentum profiles, properly treat microphysics issues, account for general relativity, and examine non-axisymmetric effects in three dimensions. Such simulations predict that gravitational waves from various phenomena associated with gravitational collapse could be detectable with ground-based and space-based interferometric observatories. This review covers the entire range of stellar collapse sources of gravitational waves: from the accretion induced collapse of a white dwarf through the collapse down to neutron stars or black holes of massive stars to the collapse of supermassive stars.

Gravitational-wave emission from stellar collapse has been studied for nearly four decades. Current state-of-the-art numerical investigations of collapse include those that use progenitors with more realistic angular momentum profiles, properly treat microphysics issues, account for general relativity, and examine non-axisymmetric effects in three dimensions. Such simulations predict that gravitational waves from various phenomena associated with gravitational collapse could be detectable with ground-based and space-based interferometric observatories. This review covers the entire range of stellar collapse sources of gravitational waves: from the accretion-induced collapse of a white dwarf through the collapse down to neutron stars or black holes of massive stars to the collapse of supermassive stars.

Gravitational wave emission from stellar collapse has been studied for nearly four decades. Current state-of-the-art numerical investigations of collapse include those that use progenitors with more realistic angular momentum profiles, properly treat microphysics issues, account for general relativity, and examine non-axisymmetric effects in three dimensions. Such simulations predict that gravitational waves from various phenomena associated with gravitational collapse could be detectable with ground-based and space-based interferometric observatories. This review covers the entire range of stellar collapse sources of gravitational waves: from the accretion induced collapse of a white dwarf through the collapse down to neutron stars or black holes of massive stars to the collapse of supermassive stars.

The study of explanation, while related to intuitive theories, concepts, and mental models, offers important new perspectives on high-level thought. Explanations sort themselves into several distinct types corresponding to patterns of causation, content domains, and explanatory stances, all of which have cognitive consequences. Although explanations are necessarily incomplete—often dramatically so in laypeople—those gaps are difficult to discern. Despite such gaps and the failure to recognize them fully, people do have skeletal explanatory senses, often implicit, of the causal structure of the world. They further leverage those skeletal understandings by knowing how to access additional explanatory knowledge in other minds and by being particularly adept at using situational support to build explanations on the fly in real time. Across development and cultures, there are differences in preferred explanatory schemes, but rarely are any kinds of schemes completely unavailable to a group. PMID:16318595

Future large ensembles of time delay (TD) lenses have the potential to provide interesting cosmological constraints complementary to those of other methods. In a flat universe with constant w including a Planck prior, The Large Synoptic Survey Telescope TD measurements for approx4000 lenses should constrain the local Hubble constant h to approx0.007 (approx1%), OMEGA{sub de} to approx0.005, and w to approx0.026 (all 1sigma precisions). Similar constraints could be obtained by a dedicated gravitational lens observatory (OMEGA) which would obtain precise TD and mass model measurements for approx100 well-studied lenses. We compare these constraints (as well as those for a more general cosmology) to the 'optimistic Stage IV' constraints expected from weak lensing, supernovae, baryon acoustic oscillations, and cluster counts, as calculated by the Dark Energy Task Force. TDs yield a modest constraint on a time-varying w(z), with the best constraint on w(z) at the 'pivot redshift' of z approx 0.31. Our Fisher matrix calculation is provided to allow TD constraints to be easily compared to and combined with constraints from other experiments. We also show how cosmological constraining power varies as a function of numbers of lenses, lens model uncertainty, TD precision, redshift precision, and the ratio of four-image to two-image lenses.

organizes a free-market economy . Another example arises from considering government waste as a social behavior, and explaining it in terms of inefficiei,cies...only buy natural + vegetarian products? " Explanation 82.1: New puritanism natural style: people believe it’s better to eat something that is natural...even if it is flavorless and costs more because killing is evil and the natural way is the only way. * Explanation 82.2: Vegetarian squeamishness people

I present an estimator for the angular cross correlation of two tracers of the cosmological large-scale structure that utilizes redshift information to isolate separate physical contributions. The estimator is derived by solving the Limber equation for a reweighting of the foreground tracer that nulls either clustering or lensing contributions to the cross correlation function. Applied to future photometric surveys, the estimator can enhance the measurement of gravitationallensing magnification effects to provide a competitive independent constraint on the dark energy equation of state.

A series of 55 patients were fitted with a new type of hydrophilic soft contact lens. These were found more comfortable than hard contact lenses and they had a protective and pain-relieving action in cases of chronic corneal disease. Vision was not as good as with hard contact lenses and a greater potential danger of infection was found. They are preferred by many patients despite the noticeable thick edge and the difficulty of obtaining an identical replacement. PMID:5042887

Sky masking is unavoidable in wide-field weak-lensing observations. We study how masks affect the measurement of statistics of matter distribution probed by weak gravitationallensing. We first use 1000 cosmological ray-tracing simulations to examine in detail the impact of masked regions on the weak-lensing Minkowski Functionals (MFs). We consider actual sky masks used for a Subaru Suprime-Cam imaging survey. The masks increase the variance of the convergence field and the expected values of the MFs are biased. The bias then compromises the non-Gaussian signals induced by the gravitational growth of structure. We then explore how masks affect cosmological parameter estimation. We calculate the cumulative signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) for masked maps to study the information content of lensing MFs. We show that the degradation of S/N for masked maps is mainly determined by the effective survey area. We also perform simple {chi}{sup 2} analysis to show the impact of lensing MF bias due to masked regions. Finally, we compare ray-tracing simulations with data from a Subaru 2 deg{sup 2} survey in order to address if the observed lensing MFs are consistent with those of the standard cosmology. The resulting {chi}{sup 2}/n{sub dof} = 29.6/30 for three combined MFs, obtained with the mask effects taken into account, suggests that the observational data are indeed consistent with the standard {Lambda}CDM model. We conclude that the lensing MFs are a powerful probe of cosmology only if mask effects are correctly taken into account.

Over the last few years, discoveries of exceptionally bright (e.g., observed S_peak > 100 mJy in the Herschel/SPIRE bands) gravitationallylensed submillimeter galaxies (SMGs) have generated great excitement. This is because these gravitationallylensed SMGs are so bright that they enable us to perform a variety of follow-up observations using a suite of observing facilities in the submillimeter, millimeter, and radio now available on the ground. Using Herschel, our team has been conducting a survey of such bright lensed galaxies in the fields of massive galaxy clusters: ``The Herschel Lensing Survey (HLS)'' (PI: Egami; 419 hours). This large Herschel program targets a total of 581 X-ray/SZ-selected massive clusters, and is currently 80% complete. Cluster lenses are often more powerful than galaxy lenses, producing larger magnifications. For example, typical magnification factors for galaxy-lensed Herschel sources are x10 or less while cluster-lensed systems can often produce magnification factors of x20-30 and even above x100. Cluster lenses will therefore allow us to detect and study intrinsically less-luminous and/or more distant sources with the ability to provide a view of finer-scale (i.e., sub-kpc) structures. Here, we propose to conduct Spitzer/IRAC imaging of 56 bright lensed SMG candidates we have identified in the ~470 HLS cluster fields observed so far. The main scientific goal is twofold: (1) to locate the underlying stellar component, and (2) to study its properties (e.g., stellar mass, specific star-formation rate) by constraining the rest-frame near-infrared SED and comparing with the Herschel and other submillimeter/millimeter data (e.g., SMA, PdB, ALMA, etc.). These rare bright lensed SMGs will allow us to probe the population of heavily dust-obscured vigorously star-forming galaxies at high redshift (z>1), which is thought to play an important role in the cosmic star-formation history of the Universe and yet has been difficult to study due to the

The measurement of the gravitationallense delay time between light paths has relied, to date, on the source having sufficient variability to allow photometric variations from each path to be compared. However, the delay times of many gravitationallenses cannot be measured because the intrinsic source amplitude variations are too small to be detectable. At the fundamental quantum mechanical level, such photometric “time stamps” allow which-path knowledge, removing the ability to obtain an interference pattern. However, if the two paths can be made equal (zero time delay) then interference can occur. We describe an interferometric approach to measuring gravitational lens delay times using a “quantum-eraser/restorer” approach, whereby the time travel along the two paths may be rendered measurably equal. Energy and time being non-commuting observables, constraints on the photon energy in the energy-time uncertainty principle_via adjustments of the width of the radio bandpass _dictate the uncertainty of the time delay and therefore whether the path taken along one or the other gravitational lens geodesic is “knowable.” If one starts with an interference pattern, for example, which-path information returns when the bandpass is broadened (constraints on the energy are relaxed) to the point where the uncertainty principle allows a knowledge of the arrival time to better than the gravitational lens delay time itself, at which point the interference pattern will disappear. We discuss the near-term feasibility of such measurements in light of current narrow-band radio detectors and known short time-delay gravitationallenses.

ID11 is an actively star-forming, extremely compact galaxy and Lyα emitter at z = 3.117 that is gravitationally magnified by a factor of ~17 by the cluster of galaxies Hubble Frontier Fields AS1063. The observed properties of this galaxy resemble those of low luminosity HII galaxies or giant HII regions such as 30 Doradus in the Large Magellanic Cloud. Using the tight correlation correlation between the Balmer-line luminosities and the width of the emission lines (typically L(Hβ) - σ(Hβ)), which are valid for HII galaxies and giant HII regions to estimate their total luminosity, we are able to measure the lensing amplification of ID11. We obtain an amplification of 23 ± 11 that is similar within errors to the value of ~17 estimated or predicted by the best lensing models of the massive cluster Abell S1063. We also compiled, from the literature, luminosities and velocity dispersions for a set of lensed compact star-forming regions. There is more scatter in the L-σ correlation for these lensed systems, but on the whole the results tend to support the lensing model estimates of the magnification. Our result indicates that the amplification can be independently measured using the L - σ relation in lensed giant HII regions or HII galaxies. It also supports the suggestion, even if lensing is model dependent, that the L - σ relation is valid for low luminosity high-z objects. Ad hoc observations of lensed star-forming systems are required to determine the lensing amplification accurately.

Lensing of the CMB is affected by post-Born lensing, producing corrections to the convergence power spectrum and introducing field rotation. We show numerically that the lensing convergence power spectrum is affected at the lesssim 0.2% level on accessible scales, and that this correction and the field rotation are negligible for observations with arcminute beam and noise levels gtrsim 1 μK arcmin. The field rotation generates ~ 2.5% of the total lensing B-mode polarization amplitude (0.2% in power on small scales), but has a blue spectrum on large scales, making it highly subdominant to the convergence B modes on scales where they are a source of confusion for the signal from primordial gravitational waves. Since the post-Born signal is non-linear, it also generates a bispectrum with the convergence. We show that the post-Born contributions to the bispectrum substantially change the shape predicted from large-scale structure non-linearities alone, and hence must be included to estimate the expected total signal and impact of bispectrum biases on CMB lensing reconstruction quadratic estimators and other observables. The field-rotation power spectrum only becomes potentially detectable for noise levels ll 1 μK arcmin, but its bispectrum with the convergence may be observable at ~ 3σ with Stage IV observations. Rotation-induced and convergence-induced B modes are slightly correlated by the bispectrum, and the bispectrum also produces additional contributions to the lensed BB power spectrum.

Weak gravitationallensing is one of the most promising techniques to probe dark energy. Our work to date suggests that the information in the nonlinear regime exceeds that in the two-point functions. Using the publicly available data from the 154 deg^2 CFHTLenS survey and a large suite of ray-tracing N-body simulations on a grid of 91 cosmological models, we find that constraints from peak counts are comparable to those from the power spectrum, and somewhat tighter when different smoothing scales are combined.I will also introduce the utility of cross-correlating weak galaxy lensing maps with CMB lensing maps, a technique that will be useful to probe structures at an intermediate redshift of 0.9, as larger weak lensing surveys such as HSC, DES, KiDS, Euclid, and LSST come online. We cross-correlate the CFHTLenS galaxy lensing convergence maps with Planck CMB lensing maps. Our results show two sigma tension with the constraints obtained from the Planck temperature measurements. I will discuss possible sources of the tension, including intrinsic alignments, photo-z uncertainties, masking of tSZ in the CMB maps, and the multiplicative bias.

Scientific explanations often take one of two forms. The first is instantiation. According to this form, an event is said to be explained when it can be expressed as some particular value of a variable in a general proposition, equation, or law. One example of instantiation in psychology is Stevens' psychophysical law. Another is the matching law in the experimental analysis of behavior. A second form of explanation is a deduction from a covering law. According to this form, an event is said to be explained when its description follows as a valid logical deduction in an argument that has a covering law as one premise and a statement of antecedent conditions as another premise. Examples of covering law explanations in psychology are found in traditional neobehaviorism, which sought to develop laws of behavior so that observed behavioral events could be explained as deductions therefrom. Strictly speaking, neither form of explanation is consistent with behavior-analytic explanations derived from Skinner's radical behaviorism, which emphasize the pragmatic sources and contributions of the verbal behavior regarded as explanatory. PMID:22478345

We are requesting DDT time to characterize the brightest gravitationally-lensed distant galaxy yet detected at near-infrared wavelengths. Whereas most high-redshift lensed galaxies are star-forming systems, our target at z=1.95 is a rare example of a massive compact quiescent galaxy. Such compact red galaxies present many puzzles if, as is thought, they grow into present day massive ellipticals. Importantly, it is unclear how and when these systems were quenched and what were their progenitors. As our target is gravitationally magnified into a spectacular 20'' arc, it offers a remarkable opportunity to secure spatially-resolved data on the stellar mass distribution to complement resolved kinematics and stellar ages available from recent Keck spectroscopy. 16 min will be sufficient to obtain suitable IRAC images for this remarkable source, which will be used to (i) robustly establish the stellar mass distribution which, in conjunction with our spectroscopic age, will connect the galaxy to a possible progenitor, (ii) compare the total stellar mass with the dynamical equivalent based on our resolved stellar kinematics, and (iii) examine stellar population gradients to discriminate amongst proposed formation histories.

The Early Warning System (EWS) designed for detection of microlensing events in progress has been implemented for the second phase of the Optical GravitationalLensing Experiment - OGLE-2. Information about detected events in progress is available on WWW page and Anonymous FTP. Astronomers interested in e-mail notification, are requested to send an e-mail to ogle-ews@sirius.astrouw.edu.pl.

Average powers from fiber lasers have reached the point that a quantitative understanding of thermal lensing and its impact on transverse mode instability is becoming critical. Although thermal lensing is well known qualitatively, there is a general lack of a simple method for quantitative analysis. In this work, we first conduct a study of thermal lensing in optical fibers based on a perturbation technique. The perturbation technique becomes increasingly inaccurate as thermal lensing gets stronger. It, however, provides a basis for determining a normalization factor to use in a more accurate numerical study. A simple thermal lensing threshold condition is developed. The impact of thermal lensing on transverse mode instability is also studied.

In this paper the author presents the case of the exchange marriage system to delineate a model of methodological gravitism. Such a model is not a deviation from or alteration to the existing qualitative research approaches. I have adopted culturally specific methodology to investigate spouse selection in line with the Grounded Theory Method. This…

AIMS--The corneal epithelial permeability during extended wear of disposable contact lenses was compared with that during daily wear of soft contact lenses. The study was performed to verify whether the extended wear of disposable contact lenses would result in a higher permeability value than the daily wear of soft contact lenses. A higher permeability makes the cornea more vulnerable for bacterial infections and thus could explain the higher incidence of bacterial keratitis found in extended wear of disposable contact lenses in comparison with the daily wear of soft contact lenses. METHOD--The corneal epithelial permeability was determined by fluorophotometry in 33 healthy volunteers after the wear of soft, daily wear contact lenses for at least 6 months. Thereafter the determination was repeated in each volunteer after extended wear of disposable contact lenses for 1 month. The permeability in 34 healthy non-contact lens wearing volunteers was determined as a control. The permeability value was calculated from the amount of fluorescein that passed into the cornea after application by means of an eyebath. RESULTS--The mean permeability values after daily and extended wear were 0.032 nm/s and 0.031 nm/s, respectively. The values were not significantly different (Wilcoxon paired test p > 0.5). The mean permeability for the non-contact lens wearing controls was 0.042 nm/s. CONCLUSION--The results do not sustain the explanation that a difference in permeability value is the main cause of the increased incidence of keratitis during extended wear of disposable contact lenses in comparison with daily wear. PMID:7742282